Code Red
by emerald-eyed-stag
Summary: Jessie Granger has never known her father. She is a muggleborn witch, starting Hogwarts school of witchcraft and Wizardry, with her new friend, Jade Potter, she is about to discover the history that she never knew that she had.
1. Jessie and Jade

**Code Red**

**A/N: my new little ficlet. It shall have chapters, though I don't know how long the entire story will be. It's been fun to write, except it's really weird, because I normally focus ion Lily and James, and this is an era that makes them grandparents, so sorry if it's a little weird for me at times! Hope that you like it! PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer: None of this is mine. Harry Potter isn't mine. **

**Jessie _WHO?_**

"Mum!" Hermione Grangers daughter Jessie cried at her, running through the house excitedly, waving something in the air, her vivid orange hair dancing behind her happily.

"Mum I got a letter! I hardly ever get letters! Wait-" she slowed down as she reached the kitchen, and Hermione turned from the coffee machine she had been using to face Jessie, her face white with fear. It had come.

"Wait mum, it's not to me after all. They have the wrong last name. It must have been to someone else." She said slowly, her face falling, handing the letter to her mum.

Hermione took it, quickly, ashen faced, and read the name that was printed so delicately in Professor McGonagal's hand,

To Miss Jessie Weasley 

Hermione groaned, and looked at the Hogwarts crest on the back on the envelope, in a reminiscent daze. She needed to talk to Harry.

Harry Potter stoped short, mid sentence.

"Excuse me." He said to Kinsley Shacklebolt. The Muggle cell phone in his pocket was vibrating ceaselessly. He had learnt from experience that it was best not to produce things such as his cell phone or his muggle laptop in the middle of the Ministry of Magic, as it caused much excitement among his colleagues, so much in fact that the last time Hermione had called he hadn't been able to hear a word over shouts of 'Would you look at that?" and "Ingenious!"

Harry slunk quickly around to his cubicle in the auror office, pictures of Ron, James, Ginny and Jade all staring down at him happily. Hermione never would give him a picture of her. She was terrified that Ron would find it, for she liked how she looked now, and didn't want him to find her new identity. A pretty picture of Harry and Ginny together, smiling, her in a white dress and he in new dress robes took pride of place on a photo frame by the in tray. A large poster of a Quidditch team in bright red also zipped arouses his walls, as did the one of the Chuddley Cannons, which Ron had crudely stuck over the top of his notice board on his first visit to Harry at work, saying that the place needed some brightening up.

"Hermione." Harry said, sitting down on the comfortable armchair that sat in front of his desk. "How are you?"

A squeak was all that could be heard from the other end of the line.

"Hermione? Are you alright?"

"Er, hi Harry." She said, her voice sounding quiet and hoarse. "I need to talk to Ginny…"

"I'm at work. But it's nice to feel needed." Harry joked. Hermione gave a small, invisible smile through the phone.

"Sorry," she said. Harry heard a sniff, and tried awkwardly and quickly to comfort his old friend.

"Well, I'm here, what's wrong?" he said in a forced cheerful voice. Hermione hesitated for a moment.

"It's about Jessie." She said finally. Harry managed a laugh.

"Ah yes, the infamous goddaughter that I have never met."

"Harry, it's not like you live around the corner…"

"Hermione, I could apparate to Australia when ever I want, and it's not as though you haven't come to visit…"

"I know Harry, just…" she trailed off.

"Harry, Jessie got a letter." Harry froze. His daughter, Jade had gotten her Hogwarts letter that morning to, amid much celebration, and little James screaming that he wanted to go too. Harry was confused. It had been so unlikely that Hermione's daughter would be a witch.

"But…but her fathers a muggle, and you're…well you're…"

"I'm a muggle now Harry! And don't talk like I'm ashamed of it, I made my chose." She said wearily, having had this conversation with James many times.

"Yes, well, it seems unlikely that there would be another muggleborn witch just one generation on…" he trailed off.

"Er, Harry." Hermione's voice was very small now, and hoarse. "Harry, Jessie's father, he's not a muggle…" she said slowly, beginning to cry again.

"Hermione?" Harry asked, more confused than ever.

"Um, I think that it's time that you met your god daughter Harry…" she said gradually.

"Who _is_ her father the Hermione? I don't understand…"

"Um, we never told you everything that happened that night Harry…" Hermione started, and realisation dawned on Harry like a bolt of lightning. He had been pacing the short length of his cubical for the last few minutes, but when Hermione said this, his knees became weak, and he settled himself down in his chair.

"Harry?"

Harry said nothing.

"Harry? Harry please say something!" Hermione said, crying steadily, hoping that it didn't show in her voice. Harry found his voice.

"Hermione, Jessie is going to Hogwarts." He said definitely. "You're not stopping Ron's daughter from going to Hogwarts. I don't care, her godfathers making this decision for her, seeing as she doesn't know who her real father is." He said, and pressed the button on his phone firmly, and resting his head in his hands on his desk, his eyes wide.

Picking up his cloak from the back of his chair, Harry ran down to the atrium, and flooed back home as quickly as he could. It was Ron's day off, he and Ginny would be there, and so would the kids…

_Hey, this means that you have a niece…_ Harry thought to himself vaguely as the flames licked at his heels and he spun quickly, through the warm fire, and landed dishevelled in the empty fire grate of his home, in the outskirts of London.

A picture of his and Ginny's wedding day sat on the mantle piece proudly, and one of the two of them, Ron and Hermione, smiling. Both these pictures had been taken on the same day, and the last day that Ron had ever seen Hermione.

A simple misunderstanding had turned into the worst mistake of his life, and the vision of Hermione running form the apartment in a teary heap still made him shake today. That's why Ron didn't like to think of Hermione Granger and what she had become. He didn't know where she was now. Harry and Ginny must still be in contact with her, and though he tried to apologise for years after that, the letters that he had written saying sorry had slowly dwindled down, so that they made no contact at all, through Ginny and Harry or otherwise.

He didn't even know if she was in the country anymore.

"Harry!" exclaimed Ginny, from her place at the table. "Is everything alright? It's not lunch yet?"

"I know, I had to talk to you." He said quickly. They gave a pointed look at Ron, who was watching carefully as James floated around on his tiny broomstick, his toes skimming the floor of the kitchen as he yelled "Higher! Higher!"

"What? What is there that the two of you cant say in front of me?" Ron asked.

"Fine we'll go upstairs." Harry said, giving his friend a grimace, and looking at Ginny. She groaned.

"I don't feel like moving! Please, please just say what ever it is in front of Ron! He's right, it's not like we're hiding anything from him."

Harry groaned. "It's about your goddaughter." He said to her. Ginny's eyes became round.

"Or should I say, it's about your niece." Ron looked bewildered, and Ginny gave Harry a strange look of confusion, and sighed, curious. She would have to find out now…

"Bill made you godmother? That's no fair! You're everyone's godmother, I swear, it sucks that you're the only girl in the family! Hey!"

Ron looked away form James, and back to where Ginny was dragging Harry up the stairs.

"Fine then! I come over for a bloody cup of tea and end up baby sitting!"

"Higher!" cried James. Ron sighed, and shook his head at the boy.

"Please uncle won won!" James whined, getting off the broom with a sulky look on his face.

"HARRY!" Ron roared, directing his voice up the stairway, "HARRY HAVE YOU BEEN TEACHING HIM TO SAY THAT!"

There was no reply. Harry and Ginny were locked safely in their room, and Harry was looking grim, as Ginny's hand clapped to her mouth in understanding.

"Wow." She said, after about a minute. "Wow wow wow."

Harry nodded blankly, and slowly took a seat beside her.

"Um, so, what's she going to do? Are we going to tell Ron or…?"

"I don't know. I sort of, well, hung up on her…she should tell him herself. Stupid prat."

"Harry! Don't you see what this means? All this time Hermione's led us to believe that she has a family, and a happy life, but she's really been bringing up a child all on her own! Don't you know how hard that would be? And not being able to use magic-"

"She could use magic if she wanted to…" Harry growled.

"I know, but she doesn't. We cant blame Hermione Harry, as much as I don't want to believe it, Ron must have done something for her to cut him out like this, if he had a daughter."

"But what? I didn't even know that they were together back then!"

"Oh Harry, yes you did! It was so obvious, you just didn't want to say anything because that would be awkward." Ginny said.

"How did you know that?" Harry asked, slightly offended at the extent of her insight. Ginny giggled.

"You're not that hard to work out Harry." She said, pulling him into a hug.

"It's just weird, you know? All these times that we've seen her, all the times that we've talked, why didn't she ever say?" He whispered, inhaling the sweet scent of her ginger hair and pressing his face into her neck, feeling the warmth of her arms wrapped comfortingly around him.

"I don't know. I guess she was ashamed of running away." Ginny suggested.

"Wow! I'm an aunty!" She added at last, breaking apart.

"You're already an aunty! What about the twins? Giselle? Mark?"

"I know, I guess it's different…it's Ron and Hermione's kid, you know? I guess that I always thought I'd be there to see that one grow up!"

"Mmmmm. I know what you mean."

"We need to talk to Ron." Harry said. Ginny shook her head.

"No, I think that we have to talk to Hermione. I don't care what she says, we are going to Australia, and we are going to find her."

"Find her? How are we going to do that?"

Ginny gave him a small smile.

"When she left, she left a note. She left an address Harry; I just wasn't allowed to use it unless it was an absolute emergency. As in someone dies. Except for Ron. She said that he could go to hell if he wanted to."

"Ok then! Lets go!" Harry said, and ran down the stairs. Ginny followed, a crumpled piece of paper, yellowing with age curled up in her balled fist.

"What are you two doing?" Rona asked, when they came rocketing down the stairs and threw fistfuls of floo powder into the fire.

"Nine Arncliffe Avenue, Sydney Australia!" Ginny said, stepping into the fire, which had turned blue, inviting her in. Harry followed quickly behind, giving a small wave to Ron.

"We could be a while! Take care of the kids!" He called, before disappearing in a shoot of flames. Ron stared at the empty grate, gob smacked.

"What did he say?" asked Ginny, when they were kneeling by the fire place in a strange house, full of muggle appliances. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Started to yell out for an explanation. God, what's wrong with saying take care of the kids? I'm taking care of his!" he laughed, and even Ginny grinned. They looked at the dark, star scattered sky peeking through the window; it must be around midnight here. There was a noise on the staircase.

Ginny and Harry whipped around, and stared for a moment at the terrified figure on the staircase. She was a delicate build, though fairly tall for the age of ten, and had flaming orange hair and deep brown eyes, Ginny gave a little yelp of surprise, and even made a move to hug the girl, before the girl gave out an ear-splitting scream. Harry and Ginny were startled, as Jessie started throwing things at them, ornaments bouncing painfully off their heads as she screamed her lungs out, her eyes wide on fear.

"MUM!MUM THERE'S PEOPLE IN THE HOUSE! MUUUUUUUUM!" There were frenzied footsteps pounding down the stairs, before Hermione jumped around the corner brandishing a baseball bat, and swung it around wildly.

"MUUUUUM!"

"I'm here! I'm- Oh my god!" she said, falling silent at the sight of Harry and Ginny, and putting a comforting hand on Jessie shoulder, quietening the girls down.

"Stop throwing things sweetie, I know them! I know them, calm down; they must have…" she silenced herself. She was about to say flooed here, but she corrected herself in time, "They have a key…"

Jessie raised her eyebrows.

"Wow." She said, staring at Ginny. Her eyes lingered curiously on the all too familiar hair.

"Go back to bed sweetie, I'm sorry that they scared you. Go back to sleep." Hermione said quietly.

"But-"

"Jessie!"

"Ok, ok, I'm going, I'm going." The ten year old said, and slinked back up the stairs to her bedroom.

Hermione smiled sadly, apologetically at Harry and Ginny, who were standing amid a mess of broken glass and plaster, from things thrown at them. There was blood trickling down Ginny's forehead, and Harry had a large cut ion his right cheek.

"At least we know that you'll be safe if anyone breaks in.," said Ginny, giggling, "Not that they're be anything left to rob, I think Jessie's thrown the entire contents of your house at us!"

It was as though her mild jokes had broken through the eleven years of tension that guarded the three of them, and Hermione took them to the kitchen, hugging each of her old friends in turn, and made them a coffee.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, when they were sitting around a small kitchen table. Ginny scoffed.

"Visiting my niece." She said, aloof. Hermione looked nervous.

"Hermione, what even happened? What could Ron have possibly done to make you not tell him that he had a daughter?" Ginny asked. Hermione deflated under there gaze, and took a deep sip of her coffee before continuing, not removing her eyes once from their expectant faces.

"Ok." She said, sitting back in her chair. "You mean that he's never even told you? Ron has never once slipped up and confessed? Never confided in you when he'd had too much fire whisky? Never, maybe, left a post it note on the fridge, 'by the way, I cheated on Hermione!'?" Hermione asked, sounding slightly hysterical. Ginny and Harry's moths hung open, and they shook their heads in amazement.

"Well, I thought that you knew. I apologise for the way that I sprung the fact he had a daughter on you today Harry, you must have spent all day thinking that I was an inconsiderate witch!"

She put her head in her hands on the table, before looking up quickly, "And when I said witch, I didn't mean it in an offensive way Ginny. I know that you're a witch and all, I didn't mean it like that." They exchanged worried looks over Hermione's garbling, and looked at her to tell the story.

"Ok, well, there's not much too it, really. The night of your wedding, Ron and I…well we…well, you know what happened. And then we stayed up the rest of the night talking, about everything. It was amazing. I've never seen that side of him before! I was sure that we were…I mean, we never said, but we were together." She sighed, before continuing. Ginny reached out and grabbed her hand.

"And then the next day, when you two went off on your honeymoon and we were all still staying at that hotel in Paris for a week? Well, I went to his room to talk to him, about what had happened I guess, to ask him if he wanted to go out to dinner, and I open the door and find him snogging Lavender Brown, lying there, on the couch, where we had stayed up the last night talking, where I'd fallen in love with him! Where…"

She trailed off, and started to cry.

"Well, I couldn't do anything. I stood in the doorway, shocked, and he looked up and saw me, and began to splutter, you know, as he does, and then I just turned, and I ran. I don't know, I could never stop running. I ran all the way here."

"I was just going to stay for a holiday here, at the start. It seemed like a long way away, he would never be able to find me here. And then I found out that I was pregnant with Jessie. And I love Jessie, don't get me wrong, but I just knew that if I went back then Ron would use her as a way to get me to talk to him, and I never wanted to see him again, let alone talk to him, so I stayed. I changed what I looked like, just in case anyone recognised me, and snapped my wand in half, so that I couldn't do magic. I do see it though, in a way that most muggles cant. It's strange, something weird will happen, and everyone will blame it on the weather, or that they're having a bad day, or they were having a hallucination, but I know what's going on."

She looked sad for a moment, knowing the question that was coming.

"And you raised her…all on your own…without magic?" Hermione nodded. And the other two looked at her amazed.

"God Hermione. You must be…"Harry cast around to find the right word, "Exhausted. Ginny and I can barely hardly James, and that's with magic, and there's two of us!"

"I'd love to meet them." Hermione said wistfully. "Ginny? Are you alright?" she asked. Ginny stood abruptly from her seat, and drew a tiny silk bag from inside her coat, walking back to the fire, which she sent flaming in the empty grate.

"Ginny? Er, where are you going?" Harry asked, the woman standing, her ears red with anger, blending magnificently with her hair and it swished around her shoulders madly.

"I'm going home. I need to give that stupid nose hair of a brother of mine what he deserves!"

"But Gin, I think I should-"

"Shut it Harry! This ones mine! I can handle it! I can be calm!" she said, disappearing into the fire.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU THINK THAT YOU WERE DOING?" Ginny roared, storming out of the fire and bearing down on her brother, who was sitting in the same spot, James sleeping up stairs.

"Um, I was drinking a butterbeer…it's not that strong! It's not like I'm drinking fire whisky while baby-sitting! Don't hold a grudge, Harry did it too!"

"THAT'S NOT BLOODY WELL WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT RONALD WEASLY! WHEN YOU'RE MADLY IN LOVE WITH A GIRL FOR EIGHT BLOODY YEARS YOU DO NOT CHEAT ON HER AFTER ONE NIGHT! THAT IS A SCUMMY-" she hit him once over the head, "LOW-LIFE-" she walloped him again, 'THING TO DO!" Ginny kicked Ron in the shins. He sat there, gazing at her, opened mouthed.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I have to get back. Harry's waiting for me."

"Did you…Are you in touch with…"Ron looked shocked, an amazed, and Ginny realised her mistake immediately.

"Lavender." She said promptly. Ron's eyes became almost as enraged as Ginny's had been a moment before hand. "I'm in touch with Lavender."

"SHE wants to talk about scummy things to do? I'll give her scum! I HATE HER! When someone offers you in because you're crying over another guy, it IS NOT an invitation to start snogging them-"

"Ron! I don't want to hear it! I DON'T want to hear about what ever the hell it was that you got up to with Lavender Brown, just stay there, I'll be back tonight, Harry too. Call Remus if you have any problems with the kids." Ginny said, wearily, before flooing back across the world again.

Ginny whipped her clothes down of soot, and stepped, dignified out of the fireplace.

They both looked up at her from the couch.

"He thinks that we're at Lavender Brown's house." She said, shrugging at them, and brushing her hands briskly, taking seat next to Harry.

"She's going to Hogwarts." Ginny said simply.

"She can't." Hermione said, practically pleading. "She just can't! She has no idea about any of it! About any of our world…"

Harry gave her a look. "Did you know about any of that when you got your letter? Did I?"

"She will be so mad at me when she finds out that I didn't tell her! She'll hate me." Hermione said miserably. Harry remembered how he had felt, knowing that the Dursleys had known all along that he was a wizard, and never telling him…

"Maybe she doesn't have to know." He suggested, slowly, the cogs of the plan falling smoothly into place, a pensive expression on his face. Hermione and Ginny looked at him quickly, Hermione's look of relief and Ginny's of outrage. He put up a hand to silence both of them, who had started talking at once, arguing and agreeing in loud whispers. He gave a nervous glance to the stairway, in case their voices were carrying.

"I'll modify her memory of tonight, you change the name on the envelope, contact McGonagal, get her to change her surname to Granger on all the documents. Then get the letter and act exactly as your parents did when you received yours." Harry said. Hermione's face brightened. Ginny looked sceptical.

"And you think hat that's going to work? Hermione pretending not to know?" she said. Harry nodded. Ginny shrugged, as though she gave up on the pair of them

"And we don't tell Ron?" Ginny asked Harry. He looked upset for a moment.

"Not for the meantime. I think that we'll have to some point down the track, but you always have Hermione." He said, before she could interrupt. "You always had to face him sometime, and this is just another way of postponing it, like you have been the rest of her life."

Hermione nodded and smiled. Her daughter at Hogwarts. It was a weird thought. But it could just work.

**Please Review! Please! I don't know weather to continue to post what I have written on this! Please give me feedback! I promise that I will write back andf read ur fics! I always wb to reviews, I cant not! Pls pls press that little blue button, so that I don't become as blue as that button!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Luv Ella xXx**


	2. Weasley's Wizard Woes

**Hey! Thanks sooooo much for the positive response to this story! This chapter os dedicated to my first reviewer, PinkxxTonKs! U rock! Thanks to everyone else who reviewed too, you really made my day!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!**

Weasly's Wizard Woes 

"It says that we need to go to a place called the Leaky Cauldron, and-"

"Oh! There it is!" said Hermione quickly, pointing to the pub with a shacking hand.

"-And that muggles wouldn't…be…able to see it…" she finished slowly, eyeing her mother suspiciously. Hermione shrugged.

"Maybe because I'm holding onto your hand?" Hermione suggested feebly. Jessie shrugged, and continued walking quickly through the bustling crowd of the packed London Street to get to the dingy pub that no one seemed to notice or care about. Inside the pub, though, was a different matter.

Jessie and Hermione entered to find the pub bustling with noise and movement, the band in the corner playing a jaunty tune, and everyone at the bar laughing merrily to something that Tom, the inn keeper had just said Hermione was quick to notice a familiar face, as he was not one that you would be likely to miss.

Rubeus Hagrid owned a small shop in Diagon Alley now, having retired the previous year. His merry face, though slightly more lined with age than when Hermione had last laid eyes on him, still beamed with delight as he laughed along and swayed to the beat of the music. He owned his own little haven of dangerous creatures, things to treat and care for the not so little and not so harmless of the magical sort, and he sold things like miniature blast ended shrewts to those who were more daring and original than the witches and wizards wishing to purchase the more traditional and conventional cat rat or owl.

Hermione put her unfamiliar blonde head down, and dark brown eyes being the only feature that she held reminiscent to her past, and walked quickly through the bar, and out the other side.

"How did you know that?" Jessie asked Hermione when they were both standing in the little courtyard out the back of the inn.

"Know what?" asked Hermione quickly.

"That the letter said; Go out the back of the pub, where you will find a small courtyard? I would have gone straight up to the bar tender!"

"I read over your shoulder." Hermione said quickly, cursing her foolishness. Jessie looked convinced, and then uneasy, as her eyes skimmed even further down the piece of heavy parchment.

"Oh no. I have to have a wand to get past this point." She said, looking back at the masses of people inside. She would have to let one for them let her in. Hermione was terrified. She couldn't take the risk of Hagrid noticing Jessie's red hair. Scanning the tiny courtyard, Hermione's eyes fell on a pink umbrella that was all too familiar. _Hagrid's._ She thought to herself and handed it to Jessie.

"Try tapping it with this?" she suggested. Jessie raised her eyebrows.

"Haha." He said sarcastically. "Oh yes, they're wizards, haha, this is all some big joke, hadihaha, they tap on walls and make them open with-" she stopped, and the wall slid open, after tapping on the right brick with the umbrella. "…Umbrellas…" Jessie finished, amazed as she feasted her eyes ion the colourful array of obvious magic that streamed before her and Hermione. Hermione smiled, and the warm feeling of being welcomed back home, of actually belonging, encased her, and she was hit dangerously with bouts of déjà vu as they strolled down the street, as Jessie read from her list.

"One standard size pewter cauldron, standard book of spells, first grade, one wand…"

Hermione was hardly listening. Instead, her eyes were skimming over familiar sights, thinking things like; _That was where I bought Crookshanks, and that was where the three of us would buy ice cream, and that was where I would buy my books, and that's the Quidditch shop that the boys were obsessed with, right next door…._

"Potions kit, brass scales…"

That was where Mr Weasley and Malfoy had a fight, and that was where She had fallen over once, right in that pothole…

"And each student may bring, if they wish, a rat, a cat or an owl…"

That was where Harry had met up with them, and that was where Ron had- 

"But first we have to go to Gringotts! Wizard bank; need to change money into wizard- mum? Mum are you even listening to me?" Jessie said, stopping with her hand on her hips. Hermione looked at her vaguely.

"Sorry?"

"Never mind, were going to the bank." Jessie said, exasperated, and dragged Hermione towards Gringotts, which was standing tall at the end of the rickety lane.

The day passed without much incident until the pair got to the apothecary. It was already occupied. In front of them at the checkout was a pretty young girl, with her mother, who was wearing wizards robes of a shocking pink, and when she turned, Hermione saw that she had bright fuchsia lipstick smeared on her perfect lips. Her eyes were perfect, her hair was perfect, even er daughter was perfect…Hermione's stomach did back flips, and she had the craziest desire to reach out and punch the woman right on her perfect nose, or even repair her wand and hex the woman into oblivion…

"Sorry, do I know you?" Lavender Brown asked, smiling friendlily at Hermione. All that she could manage was a chocking sort of noise and a quick shake of the head. Jessie raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, sorry, you looked familiar." Lavender said cheerily. "First year too?" she asked, looking down at Jessie, smiling. Jessie nodded eagerly.

"Yes, it's great, really is. Hogwarts I mean. Wonderful time. Did you go there?" she asked Hermione. Hermione shook her head again.

"I'm a muggle." She said plainly, and then groaned inwardly as she realised that even her daughter didn't know that term.

"Oh! That's fine! The best witches are muggleborn, isn't that right? Did her father attend the school, I might have met him!" she said, giggling and nudging Hermione jokingly. Hermione's face reddened.

"No, no he wasn't a wizard." She lied. Lavender still smiled.

"You'll have fun. Suzie will look after you, wont you sweetie?" she said, her hand on her daughters shoulder. The young girl nodded, and swished her perfectly straight hair back out of her eyes gracefully with one manicured finger. They waved goodbye, and left the store.

"Muggle?" Jessie asked Hermione.

"I heard someone at the bank saying it. It means someone who's not a wizard." She explained, trying her best to sound as though she hadn't a clue what she was talking about.

The next challenge came when passing the joke shop, which stood bright and proud as ever in the middle of the street, the rickety chimney on top emitting clouds and puffs of multicoloured smoke. Weasly's Wizard Wheezes was huge, and very popular. It was inevitable that Jessie wanted to look inside.

Hermione nodded at her, regrettably, and ushered her inside, saying that they wouldn't stay for long. After all, it was a large, crowded shop, and the chances that the Weasley twins would even recognise her were slim.

What she hadn't counted on was the addition of staff that the larger premises required.

Ron and Ginny stood talking, at the end of the isle. Ginny's eyes grew wide as she saw the woman walking with her young girl, over her brother's shoulder. Ron didn't notice, he kept rambling on, and Hermione looked up suddenly, and saw who was standing at the end of the isle.

Her eyes widening, and controlling herself so that she didn't completely break down and start sobbing into Ron's shoulder, Hermione directed Jessie to the next isle, the lure of the pygmy puff much too inviting.

While those transfixed her, Hermione went to talk to Ginny, something that she knew she had to do, now that she was here.

Ginny and Ron stood talking, still, and Hermione took a deep breath.

"Excuse me ma'am." She said, trying to change her voice, but only coming out in a squeak as a result, "Sorry, can you please show me the way to the bathrooms?" she asked. Ron smiled at Hermione, unrecognisable.

"I will." He said cheerfully, giving her a weird look, "You look familiar. Have we met?" he asked, giving her a smile. Hermione shook her head quickly.

"Ok then," Ron said slowly, a little scared by her defiance, "Right-this-way."

As Ron turned, Hermione mouthed back to Ginny a desperate _HELP._

Ginny nodded her red head and sped off to the counter.

A bell rang through the store, deafening, and everyone threw heir things in the air and ran outside, as Ginny's voice could be heard yelling through the shop.

"GET OUTSIDE! FIRE!"

Everyone ran outside, and Hermione managed to get away from Ron, and find Jessie again, grabbing her arm and joining the throng headed down the street in a maddened panic.

"What was all of that about?" Fred and George asked, bearing down on their sister threateningly. She scoffed.

"Well, those alarms have always been there and never once have we tested them! That as a fire drill!" she said defiantly.

Fred and George looked at her as though she was crazy.

'I don't know what that was about Ginny, bout next time you think of a good prank to play, please restrain from using it in our shop." Fred said, rolling his eyes, and starting to go outside.

Hermione, when they were half way up the street, had to stifle a laugh at the extremity of Ginny's diversion. Ollivanders, Hermione noticed, was one of the shops that hadn't been restored when the war was over. A shiny new plaque was plastered on the wall proclaiming that the shop was now called Allvins, and it seemed the only place in Diagon ally left to purchase a wand.

Hermione and Jessie made a beeline through the lively crowd and into the wand shop, which was, Hermione noted, much warmer and homelier than the old one, with a glittering fire blazing in the grate, and a polished wooden counter.

_Lucky that Ollivander's not here really, he would certainly blow the whole game, _Hermione reflected, Jessie choosing her wand, swishing each threw the arm, one at a time, with no result. The cheerful old man who was bouncing around the shop, pulling wands down off shelves haphazardly smiled, and handed her one which was almost white in colour, and contained a core of hippogriff feather. Hermione grinned, remising about the mysterious creatures, and jumped when her daughter sent rainbow sparks glittering though the air, bringing the wand swishing around her. The sight almost brought a tear of pride to Hermione's eye, but she shelved her emotion, and wore her best look of polite muggle shock, handing over the ten galleons for the wand.

"I want to buy you an animal." Hermione said, smiling at Jessie.

"Really?" Jessie asked, her eyes lighting up as Hermione nodded, and led her to the same shop that she had purchased Crookshanks in, all those years ago.

"Now, what do you want, a cat or an owl? Not a rat. I can't stand rats." Hermione added quickly. Jessie shrugged.

"I've always wanted a cat." She said quietly, and looked at all of the animals in their cages and baskets, smiling thoughtfully. Her eyes came to rest on a pure white cat, with bright jade green eyes, which was purring from in its basket by the door. She knelt down, and picked it up, grinning as the cat nuzzled into the fold of her arm.

"I like this one." She said, and Hermione gave the lady behind the counter enough galleons to purchase the feline, before they started back towards the leaky cauldron again, Hermione nervous about Hagrid. They had past his shop earlier, giving Hermione reason to laugh as she spied the hastily scrawled note pasted to the closed door.

Not 'ere at the moment. Com bak later.

"What are you going to name her?" Hermione asked Jessie.

Jessie smiled up at her.

"You name her." She said to Hermione. Hermione smiled, and stroked the cat, which looked up at her with her beautiful forest green eyes.

"How about Lily?" she suggested, and Jessie grinned.

"Cool name! I like it!" she looked down at the cat, and stroked her under the chin, "Hey there Lily. You going to come to Hogwarts with me? Yeah, yeah you are! We're going to have fun aren't we?"

Hermione grinned, and Jessie tapped the wall with her knew wand, and entered the rowdy pub once again.

"Come on Jessie, let's go." Said Hermione, trying to pull her through the crowd quickly, but Jessie had stopped short in her tracks, the kitten I her arms struggling to break free.

"Jessie?"

"Lily!" the girl cried out, as the cat shot across the pub, which fell silent and watched as the cat ran through Hagrid's legs and out the other side, over the bar stools and onto the shiny timber of the bar.

"Lily come back!" Jessie cried, and Hagrid smiled, and with one hand scooped the cat up and handed it back to Jessie, who had followed her, and placed the white kitten in her arms.

"Hello there. Firs' year are yer?" Hagrid asked. Jessie's eyes widened at the size of the man, and Hermione fought her way through the crowd, trying to get closer, knowing that she would have to, to make sure that her daughter said nothing stupid.

"Cute cat. I'm allergic myself, but always been fond of them, from a distance. Got great green eyes! Did you know her then?" he asked Jessie, grinning. Hermione stopped behind Jessie, and groaned inwardly.

"Know who sir?" Jessie asked, her brow creasing.

"Lily Potter? I figured that the cat must be named after her, because of the eyes and all…"

"Sorry sir, I'm muggle born, I don't even know who Lily Potter is." The whole bar made murmuring noises, and before long, it had broken out into chatter again. Hagrid smiled.

"Right. Oh don't be sorry. I once knew a boy, didn't know who Lily Potter either, and he was the one person who needed her the most, so don't you mind that you don't know all bout em. You'll here the story soon enough. In fact, why don't you take a seat. Is this your mother?" Hagrid asked, looking at Hermione, a faint crease appearing behind his eyebrows. Jessie nodded.

"Have we met?"

"No sir, I'm not a witch." She said, smiling as she took a seat next to Hagrid, pleased that he hadn't recognised her straight off, or made any kind of comment about the familiar aspects of Jessie's appearance. She also took care not to make the mistake of calling herself a muggle again.

"Oh, well, welcome to our world! Where'd yer come from anyway? Those accents aren't from around these parts, are they?"

"Australia sir." Hermione said, repeating sir politely, even though it seemed stupid seeing as she were talking to Hagrid. Perhaps she had taken it a little too far, for her old friend gave a quick, booming laugh and sat back in his chair.

"Sir? Don't you bother bout callin' me sir." He said with a laugh. He held out a large hand, and shook the girls hands in turn. "Call me Hagrid. Now, I used to work at the school, most of me life, and I know that you're gonna be feelin' like your not fittin in and all, but my one piece of advice to you is; don't ruddy well listen to em."

"Who's them?" Jessie asked, leaning in. Hagrid rolled his eyes, and Hermione smiled, glad that her daughter was getting the advice that she longed to give.

"There are some wizards who think that they're better than everyone else because they're what we call 'purebloods' and they discriminate against everyone who is born from muggle families. Load of codswallop. You'd think that after the way the war ended people would have learnt their lesson, but noooo. Don't think on it for one minute though. It's absolute rubbish. I've known a muggle born witch who could do things with a wand that purebloods never seen before! Would have lost the war if it weren' for 'er too!" Hermione tried to make it so that her face didn't suddenly glow with pride, but Hagrid had seen the falter in her passive expression.

"You alright ma'am? Are you sure that we haven't met?"

"No, sorry, we do have to get going. Have to get back to Australia."

They had flown over here, but Hermione had bought some floo powder, and Hagrid led them over to the fire place, and showed her unnecessarily how to through the glittery powder into the flames.

"Wait! I don't even know your names!" he said, as Hermione got ready to step into the fire. She didn't know what to do. Jessie was opening her mouth…

"I'm Jessie Granger! See you around Hagrid!" the girl said with a cheerful wave, before disappearing into the fire. A looked of shocked realisation came over Hagrid's over sized features, and he gave Hermione a wide-eyed stare. She cast him one apologetic look, and a sad wave. Pleading him silently to keep quiet, she put one foot in the blue flames, licked her ankles as the danced merrily.

"Bye Hagrid, nice meeting you." She said, and disappeared. Hagrid gazed at the grate, which was once again burning orangey red, and gaped open mouthed at the place where Hermione had just stood.

Hagrid threw a fistful of his own floo powder into the grate and squeezed into it, with great difficulty, squashing his head against the top of the grate, and mushing into the warm flames.

"Godrics hollow!" he said, his booming voice muffled by the position he was in. Hagrid wanted answers.

Harry and Ginny were sitting at the kitchen table, Ginny still in her work robes from being at the store all day.

Hagrid flew out of the fire place and landed on the floor, head first, being too large to fit into the grate, and made the house shake with his impact, giving out a dull 'ouch.' As his head collided with the floor.

"Hagrid!" Ginny exclaimed, and stood up, helping him uselessly to his feet. Harry stood, grinning.

"How are you Hagrid? Haven't seen you in ages!"

"Well, I'm a little confused…" he confessed, and took a seat on one of the chairs around the table, straining the legs with his weight. Harry and gunny exchanged worried looks, Ginny having just told Harry the days events, which ended in her being chased up the street by one of Fred and Georges fake ghosts, set by them unmercifully.

"Yes?" Ginny asked. Hagrid gave a small smile. Well, as small a smile as was possible for him to make considering that not much that Hagrid did was small…

"Well, I was in the Leaky Cauldron just now, when this cat come skirting through my legs!" He said. Harry and Ginny raised their eyebrows. This was not. What they were expecting. "And then this little girl with bright orange hair runs after it, yelling for the cat to come back. Lily, it's name was-yes that's right, Lily. But it gets weirder. The cat had these bright green eyes, and so I pick it up, and ask the girl how she knew er!"" he said, laughing.

"How she knew who?" Harry asked.

"Yer mum! I thought that she musta know 'er. Too much of a coincidence to have a cat lookin' like that named Lily. But this girl tells me that she's a muggleborn, and her mum was there. Her mum looked familiar, but back then I didn't know why…"

Ginny and Harry recognised defeat, and Hagrid finished his story.

"And I knew that there was something wrong when I told her that muggleborn didn't matter, and that I knew a muggleborn witch who helped win the war!" Hagrid gave a laugh. "The look on that woman's face!"

Harry and Ginny started to laugh, and he told them of how Jessie had told him her last name. Harry and Ginny looked sad.

"Yes, but Hagrid, that's not her real last name…" Harry said sadly, and looked at him meaningfully. Hagrid didn't catch on. He wasn't one to recognise the witty insinuations that Ginny and Harry often conversed in.

"Eh?"

"Er, Hagrid, Jessie's real last name is Weasley." Ginny said quietly, looking towards the doorway as though she half expected Ron to come bursting through it, cursing everything in sight.

"What? You mean she's your kid?" he asked Ginny, screwing up his nose in bafflement. Ginny and Harry were quick to correct him.

"No no no, er, there's more than one Weasley." Ginny said, a hint of a laughter in her voice as Hagrid realised the situation that they were in, and she and Harry set about explaining everything to Hagrid.

**The next Chapter Jessie and Jade scoot off to Hogwarts! And there might be another familiar face…**

Hope that u liked that! Next chapter up soon! REVIEW! Please? 

**Luv Ella xXx**


	3. Daniel Lupin

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! JK is brilliant!**

Jessie Granger stood alone on platform nine and three quarters, holding Lily in a cage in her right hand, and her ticket, complete with instruction on how to get into the platform in her other. Hermione hadn't come with her this time. She had said a very teary goodbye on the other side of the platform, giving her a quick excuse about not wanting to miss an important work meeting back in Australia, where she worked for the newspaper. Jessie knew better. She knew that being in the wizarding world made her mother uneasy, and she didn't blame her. It was fairly far fetched, to think that there was a whole world that they didn't know about, one where objects could be moved without touching them, you could predict the future,. Read minds, perform spells, existing right alongside their own one. To Hermione it must have seemed ludicrous. To Jessie, however, it made the world make perfect sense.

All her life she had never quiet fitted in. Never felt like she belonged. Like there was a huge epic of a story, of a life that was hers that she was meant to be leading, and she couldn't open the pages and read it no matter how hard she tried. Like she had a history that no one knew about.

Jessie used to think that it had something to do with never knowing her father. She didn't want to. Hermione had told her that he had left when she had been very young, and that he wasn't coming back. Jessie didn't ask any more questions, scared of the sad hollow look that came into her mother's eyes when she had spoken of him.

Those eyes were Jessie's only real comfort that she belonged, the only reassurance that she had gotten, growing up, that she really belonged to her mum. Her tall structure and orange hair certainly didn't come from Hermione, that was for sure.

Even though she knew no one, and was standing quite alone while everyone else on the platform was surrounded by sobbing parents, and fussing grandmothers, younger siblings, Jessie didn't feel lost. She belonged here. Everything else would fall right into place.

A flash of red hair caught her eye, across the platform. Hair just like hers, though it wasn't long and curly like her locks, but cropped, and straight, though kind of messy.

The girl caught Jessie's eye, and grinned. She had bright, emerald green eyes, and a cheerful smile that made tiny dimples appear in her rosy cheeks. Jessie gave a nervous smile, and a small wave.

The girl was standing with her mother and father, who were standing together, and a man who Jessie figured could only be her uncle, as he shared her flaming red hair. Jessie turned away, and walked to the train, putting her luggage in the back compartment, and getting onto the train. She saw the girl get on before her, her luggage already gone, and the clock ticking quickly to eleven o'clock.

Jessie looked in vain for an empty compartment. She scanned each of the tiny rooms until she found one, near the end that had only one person in it. It was the girl from the platform.

Jessie opened the door, her heart beating horribly fast in amongst all of her nerves. The girl looked up, and smiled at Jessie again, pointing to the seat opposite her.

"Sit down! I don't know anyone, glad to have a friend." Jade Potter said, and introduced herself.

"Jessie Granger." Said Jessie, smiling at Jade. Jade looked pensively out of the window for a moment.

"Granger…Granger… Could have sworn that I had heard your name before…does yo0u dad work at the ministry maybe?" Jade asked kindly. Jessie gave a sad smile, and said apologetically.

"No, I'm muggleborn, and I don't know my father." Jade looked horrified with herself.

"I'm so sorry, I had no idea! And don't worry about being muggleborn, heaps of people re, apparently. Mum told me to look out for you lot. Make sure that the Slytherins lay off you." She laughed. "But don't worry about that."

"Yes, who are the Slytherins? Hagrid mentioned them."

"Oh you know Hagrid? I love Hagrid! He's friend's with dad and uncle Ron." She went on to explain about the four school houses, Griffindore, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, and how she hoped that she would be in the foremost.

"I'm quite scared actually. Dad and mum were well, quite famous for being in that house. My uncle was a prefect. They say that they don't care where I am put, but I don't know, I know that dad would love for me to be in Griffindore."

"What do you mean that they're quite famous?" Jessie asked, and Jade looked horrified with herself.

"Oh no." she said, glumly, looking out the window. " I wanted more than anything to distance myself from all of that and I've gone and blurted it out to the first person that I meet." She sighed, and continued.

"Well, dad's Harry Potter, Voldermort, this dark wizard, really bad, you've heard of the war right?" she looked at Jess, who nodded, wanting to hear more. Jade took the hint, and continued.

"Yeah, well, he was the cause. He wanted to kill dad, as a baby, but couldn't cause Lily, my grandma-"

"Wait? Lily Potter?" Jessie asked, interrupting. Jade nodded.

"Oh! That explains it then. My cat, it has bright green eyes, and mum called it Lily, just by coincidence, and Hagrid thought that we must have named it after your grandma. That's how we got to talking in the Leaky Cauldron."

Jade laughed. "Sorry, I love Hagrid. He's so funny that guy. Came round for dinner the other night, it was fun. Anyway, Voldermort couldn't kill dad because of Lily's protection, and then he disappeared for ages. Then he came back, it's a long story, but he came back, and then dad and mum and Uncle Ron had to go around and help stop him, and it got to the point where there was a final battle with Dad and Voldermort. I haven't ever heard details, he wont tell me, says that I am too young, but dad defeated him, and now he's something of a hero." Jade sighed again.

"I just hope that the teachers don't take that into account. I don't know, they were all so great. I a way you're lucky. I have so much to live up too, and…what if I'm no good at magic? I don't know anything, and I'm meant to be the daughter of Harry Potter."

Jessie gave her an encouraging smile. She liked Jade already, though she did talk a lot.

"There's something else too." She said, thinking. "There's this woman. I know that she's a witch, but no one will ever talk about her, and I really want to know about her. She was friends with dad and Ron at Hogwarts. I want to find out everything that I can about her. Will you help me?"

Jessie nodded. If she wasn't very much mistaken she had just found her first friend at Hogwarts, and it was a very encouraging thought. She smiled broadly.

They laughed the day away, with stories about young James, and the muggle world being exchanged.

"Oh, you have to get me a plug! My grandpa would love that! He collects them! Eclectic plugs! Can I get one for him? Do you know where I could? He would love that so much!" Jade squealed, when Jessie told her of the weird appliances that they had.

When the food cart had gone, and they had gotten over the initial excitement of exploring the uniqueness of the candy and exchanging chocolate frog cards, Jade and Jessie got onto the topic of the castle, and Jade looked nervous.

"I'm not meant to show anyone this…but I know that I can trust you. Dad said that I couldn't let anyone but my friends see it, but we're friends now, so what the heck?"

Jade plunged her hands into the pocket of her jacket, and pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment, which was thick, and lined and yellowed with age. She drew out her wand, pointed it at the parchment, and muttered spoke to the paper.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." She said, as though reciting something that she had learnt by heart in a singsong sort of voice. The map opened up, and ink began to unfurl itself on the surface, creating lines, and dots, and figures. Jade grinned, peering down at the map of the castle, and looking happily at the look of amazement on Jessie's face.

"Who are Moony Wormtail Padfoot and Prongs?"

"Long story, except Prongs was my grandpa, and Moony's Remus, he's good friends with dad and them too. Nice guy. He took care of us heaps when we were younger. In fact, Daniel is in the year above us at Hogwarts, his son, he should be on here somewhere." Jade said, smiling. "I grew up with him, sort of, haven't seen him for ages. He teased me so much, saying that I had to do some painful test to be sorted into houses, but I asked mum, all we have to do is try on a hat." She laughed. "He's nice though. He's a metamorphmagi like Tonks, his mum, so it means that he can changer his appearance at will. Whenever he wants to he just changes what he looks like!"

They turned their attention back to the map, where into labelled dots were walking around, teachers and Dumbledore, so that you could see what they were doing.

"We're going to have fun with this." Jessie breathed. Jade giggled.

"Glad that you think so. I was scared that you wouldn't want to leave the common room, but that's good, we can sneak down to the kitchens together!" Jade laughed, and the compartment door slid open.

"Daniel! Just telling Jess here about you!" Jade said, as a boy with sandy coloured hair and bright blue eyes entered. He stopped short, looking disappointed.

"How did you know it was me? I was going to pretend to be a Slytherin come to eat you or something just as sinister." He flopped down on the seat next to Jessie, and took a chocolate frog from the top of Jade's pile, biting it's head off, as his transformed into a dark haired, dark eyed boy with a heart shaped face. Jade laughed.

"I thought that you might, I was getting ready to say it to anyone who entered the room, just to be safe." Jade laughed. Daniel groaned, his mouth thick with chocolate, and grinned at Jessie, holding out his hand to shake it. Daniel swallowed.

"Hey, I'm Daniel Lupin. Nice to meet you." He said, still smiling. He started on a chocolate cauldron.

"Hey! Dan! Take your own chocolate!" Jade exclaimed, hitting his hand away.

"I don't have any chocolate." He said plainly. She nodded.

"Go without then." She said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Where's the rest of the family Jade? Bumped them off have you?"

"Who? The twins? Please, I don't want them here; they'd pull much worse pranks than what you were trying. Giselle's gone to Beauxbatons this year, they couldn't convince Fleur to send her here…"

"Probably a good thing too, some of the guys in my year already had their eye on her…" Daniel commented, grinning.

"You had better not be one of those guys Lupin…"

"Calm down Potter, I'm not!" he said, hastily correcting her. "I was just saying, the rest of the prats in my grade aren't so resistant, they didn't spend their childhood growing up with a couple of veelas…"

"What ever Lupin. Where are your friends anyway? What ever happen to that Mark guy that was always hanging around?" Jade asked.

"He transferred end of last year. Durmstrang." He said, quietly. The girls dropped the subject. They could tell that Daniel missed his friend, but having the brave exterior of a young Griffindore he hid it with his foolish pride, and the defiant look in his eyes, now green, dared them to tease him.

They didn't. And Daniel Lupin stayed in their carriage, on the Hogwarts Express. Jessie found it fascinating, hanging out with two people who had obviously grown up in a very magical way. The weirdest thing was that they didn't seem to find it anything out of the ordinary. When they pulled up at the Hogsmeade station, for instance, they didn't even blink as a hundred carriages drawn by what seemed to be invisible horse trundled up beside the train. It was a sort of understanding that Jessie realised she could never find in books.

"Firs' Years…firs' years this way." Came a voice, floating through the darkness. Jessie gave a large grin, glad to have someone at the castle that she knew already, but Daniel and Jade exchanged astonished looked, before peering through the night to see if the man calling really was the kind half giant they had grown up to love…

There was no mistaking him. Rubeus Hagrid beamed down at the three friends, and cuffed Lupin by the back of his robes, enthusiastically.

"Hagrid! What are you doing here?" Jade asked. They all knew that Hagrid had left the school years and years ago, after Dumbledore had died, and gone to work and live in Diagon Alley. He was very happy there, and close to where they lived too, catching Quidditch games with Harry and Ron every so often.

"I thought that I might fancy, er, coming back for a year or so…" he said, almost mechanically. Daniel eyed him suspiciously. He knew that Hagrid was lying. He was talking in the way that he would when he served them up a stew and assure them that it contained no more than chicken…and when Hagrid spoke like that Daniel always felt uneasy…

"I missed it…you know, Hogwarts…and now with you girls here too…" Daniel looked at Hagrid. There was no mistaking it this time. Hagrid definitely did not meet their eye, and he seemed to skim over Jessie most obviously, and he played nervously with the cuff of his coat.

"First years!" Hagrid returned to calling out, catching Daniel eyeing him sceptically and scanning the group of eleven year olds that had congregated around him, "Firs' years this way!"

Daniel said a hasty goodbye to the girls, and ran towards the carriages as best he could, while carrying a very heavy trunk, his bright hair, yellow now, shining in the light, bobbing up and down through the other heads like a beacon.

Hagrid ushered them all into tiny boats, which were docked up near the station, on the edge of a lake. Jessie looked up at the castle, in awe. She had never seen something so ancient and great. The hair on the back of her neck seemed to stand up as they crossed the water and drew closer and closer to the castle, and Jessie knew that it wasn't from the cold. One of the other differences that came from growing up away from magic was that while Jade and the other two occupants of the boat looked perfectly non pulsed by the warm tingly feeling that Jessie was experiencing, she knew that it meant they were surrounded by magic. Ancient magic, magic that was built into the castles very walls. Magic that swam in the lake with the giant squid and merepeople, and magic that seemed to soar through the air as the owls dipped and soared out of the tower over looking the lake. The whole place seemed to be threaded with magic, and Jessie knew that finally, she belonged…

**Thanks for all the positive feedback guys! It really makes me feel so great, and pushes me to keep updating, so thanks so much! The next chapter will be here soon, I wrote it all in my notebook when I was away! Am very excited to post it…**

**Luv Ella Evans xXx**


	4. The Song Of The Sorting Hat

**A/N: Here it is, hope that u like it, please give me feedback!**

A very round man with a moustache that gave the first years the impression that they were faced with an over sized walrus beamed down at them as they stepped off the boat.

"I am Professor Slughorn." He announced, as they demounted the boats and stepped into the cave, looking all around them in awe. A large door was barely visible behind Horace Slughorn's large form. Slughorn looked at Jade and winked. Jade groaned inwardly. Her father had warned her about him. His eyes also lingered abnormally long on Jessie, before he turned once again to address the group assembled in his wake, the boats now having all arrived, and tethered themselves at the edge of the water, which was lapping the rocky shore lullingly.

"I am your deputy headmaster, as well as your potions teacher. In a moment, I am going to take you upstairs to the Great Hall, where the rest of your classmates are. There, you will be sorted into your houses. There are four, Griffindor, Slytherin, of which I am the coordinator, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. The houses will be like your family at Hogwarts, and you behaviour here at the school will weigh heavily on the point score for your respective house, the house with the most amount of points at the end of the school year winning the house cup."

Slughorn looked at Jessie and Jade again. Jade rolled her eyes, and Jessie became a little wary of the man, as he eyed the two of them beadily. It was clear that he was hoping Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley's daughter would be placed in Slytherin, against all odds…

"I am going to take you up to the school now, where we will await the sorting ceremony. Follow me."

Slughorn took them to a room, which was covered, Jessie was quick to notice, in stately portraits, which were smiling happily and sitting straight backed in their chairs. All of them were moving.

"They're the head boys and girls." Jade whispered in a breath to Jessie. Jessie, nervous about the sorting, peered up at the pictures half-heartedly.

"How do you know?" she asked quietly, the pictures not having any sort of label.

"That one there, that's my uncle Percy. I don't know him very well. He had a fight with grandpa years and years ago. He still comes to big things, like weddings, but I think that he's embarrassed now. Mum doesn't like him at all." She was looking at a portrait of a boy of about seventeen, with flaming red hair and horned rim glasses. Jade sniggered. Percy Weasley was looking down at the first years with a stiff smile that made it obvious he thought himself inferior to the lot of them.

Jessie scanned the portraits. Her eyes came to rest, finally on one familiar looking face, a girl not far from Percy's portrait, with a kind, excited smile. Her hair was bushy and full of curls, and her eyes were a deep brown. Jessie smiled. The girl seemed nice.

"I swear I've seen her before…" Jade said, following Jessie gaze. Jessie nodded.

"I know, me too. But that's impossible…" the portrait waved at them, and winked.

A noise at the front of the room made them jump, the murmuring first years falling silent suddenly, scared of what was to come when they stepped out into the Great Hall.

A woman with her greying hair pulled back into a tight bun at the back of her head, and wearing a tall black hat trimmed with a deep red stood before them, her stern, lined face curving up briskly into a small smile. The corners of her mouth tightened slightly as Jessie caught her eye. This was not what the girl needed to boost her spirits. Realising her mistake, McGonagal tried a second attempt at smiling at the young red head, which made Jessie ease up slightly, and exchange an anxious look with Jade.

_Great, they're friends. _McGonagal thought, almost smiling at the irony, _That's just what I need to make the whole task a lot easier…Potter…if only we didn't all owe him a favour, then we wouldn't have to be part of one of his new wild adventures…_

But they did owe him a favour. The whole wizarding world, it seemed, owed Harry Potter a favour and this hardly matched up to defeating the greatest dark wizard of all time, so McGonagal returned to smiling, and spoke kindly to the new group of students entering her school.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." She said, cheery. Though she was acting kind and welcoming, the girls knew that this would not be a teacher to cross. "I am your headmistress, Professor McGonagal, and the sorting ceremony is about to begin. If you will follow me through to the great hall…"

McGonagal turned briskly, leaving the group of trembling first years to follow her, nervously. There were still a few straggling students in the entrance hall, who sped up to a run when they saw McGonagal coming with the new students, and rushed into the great Hall to get a seat. Jessie took a deep breath, as they stepped into the hall.

The first thing that she noticed was the roof. The roof of the great Hall at Hogwarts, which was bewitched to look like the night sky could not be done justice by the factual description in _Hogwarts; A History_. Jessie looked up, gapping in awe, and then stared around at the sea of heads and candles, which were floating among the students.

It wasn't until McGonagal cleared her throat to get the halls attention that Jessie and Jade noticed the mangy looking witches hat that sat gallantly on a three legged stool at the front of the hall. Everyone in the room fell silent, and stared at the hat.

"What if we don't get in the same house?" Jessie hissed to Jade. Jade bit her bottom, lip, and looked at the old hat, worried. The entire congregation of first years, in fact, seemed worried. Over at the Griffindor table, Daniel grinned at the girls, and gave them a small but encouraging wave. Jessie returned in with a nervous grin, and Jade rolled her eyes at him, as his hair changed from a sweeping black to a deep, spiky purple.

_Show off. _She mimed to him, from across the hall. Daniel winked, and the girls turned their eyes back to the sorting hat, which began to sing…

_I am a hat;_

_Which you can see,_

_But I'm not unlike yourself._

_I have a mind; _

_I talk and think, _

Though I sit upon a shelf.

_You may wonder why one would cast a spell _

_On such as me._

_But I once belonged to Griffindor,_

_And the other founders, three._

_Godric founded Griffindor,_

_The home of the good mate._

_With friendship and bravery valued _

_More than any other trait._

_Helga Hufflepuff was a kind young thing,_

_A bubbly, happy sort._

_The generous, quiet achievers were those she found and taught._

_Rowena Ravenclaw used her brains _

_To get them out of niches. . _

_From the smartest of the students, she liked to take her pick._

_Salazar, the Slytherin; a witty, cunning snake._

_The sly and the ambitious_

_Were the ones he liked to take._

_So when the sorting started _

_To resolve an age old fight,_

_The four friends found they couldn't judge the new kids just by sight._

_So they took a hat-_

_Yes, I am he-_

_A made me search right through your head._

_I find where you are meant to be, _

_And by which founder you should be led._

_So trust me, and where I sort you;_

_Treat your house just like your friends._

_Grow into a family._

_Protect each other until the end. _

_For I know what I am doing_

_And where it is that you belong. _

_So come and put me on your head;_

_I haven't yet been wrong._

The students of Hogwarts broke into jovial applause, and the hat settled down once again, the rip at its base closing. Jessie was nervous. Her hands were shaking, tucked into the pockets of her black wizards robes. She thanked her last name inwardly, as McGonagal began to read out the surnames in alphabetical order. Granger was near the beginning of the list. She didn't envy Jade, who was growing paler by the second, her emerald eyes looking nervously at the hat, which was sorting _Blake, Mary_.

"Ravenclaw!" the hat called.

McGonagal made her way through the list, and when she reached 'Forbes Carrie' (Griffindor!) Jessie pressed her eyes closed, knowing what was coming. She didn't see the reserved look on McGonagal's face, or the way that the headmaster's lips pursed tighter together as she read out the next surname on the list. Jessie was much too anxious to recognise the almost exasperated way the headmaster read out the surname, as though struggling with herself, and her better judgement.

"_Granger_, Jessica." She said, looking up. Jessie exchanged an edgy look with Jade, and began to walk towards the sorting hat.

Nervously, and with one last look at Jade before the hat was placed over her head, Jessie awaited the verdict. She almost jumped when she heard the sorting hats gravely voice, as though it were in her own mind.

"Ah, what do we have here…you have talent…ah, yes, lots off it…seems that you have the makings of a Ravenclaw…" Jessie's heart fell a little. She had hoped so much that she would be in Griffindor…it seemed that Jade would surely get placed in that house, and she so wanted to get to know her more…

"Ah. Though you do have determination…and there courage there…you can be sure of that."

Jessie's heart rose an inch or so, and she hardly dared to believe the word that came bellowing out of the sorting hat…

"GRIFFINDOR!" the hat yelled, and it was lifted off her head, the stars in the sky blinking down at her from the roof once again, the red table erupting with cheers, Daniel stamping his feet, standing and moving down to let her sit next to him at the table.

"Congratulations." He whispered to her. Jessie beamed, in a numb state of elated shock.

McGonagal kept on reading, after giving Jessie a sincere smile upon being selected into her old house.

When they got to Jade, the whole of Griffindor house seemed to draw a breath. There was a slight murmuring rippling through the Great Hall, like a dull breeze moving leaves in a forest, as Jessie's friend's name was called. Lupin and Jessie exchanged nervous looks.

"Potter, Jade." McGonagal called, and Jade stepped up to the seat. She was nervous. Much more nervous than Jessie had been, though she tried to keep her head up and her chest out, and put on a brave front, despite the fact that all the colour was gone from her face. She was never going to be accepted into Griffindor house if she became shook up when faced with the prospect of trying on a hat.

Even at this though Jade felt ashamed. Her father could face Lord Voldermort, and she couldn't even face the old school sorting hat. What was he going to say when she wrote home explaining that she had been sorted into Hufflepuff?

"Ah! Another Weasley eh? And I can see bravery there, much more than you know…I know just where to put you!"

"GRIFFINDOR!" bellowed the hat, and Jade almost cried out loud in astonishment. Jessie and Daniel were at the Griffindor table beaming and screaming in delight, and the Griffindor's were ecstatic with excitement, screaming and rising from their seats to greet Jade as she made her way along to where Dan and Jessie sat.

Jade smiled at them. She felt giddy with relief. She barely heard the girl being sorted now, '_Thomas, Suzie,' _a pretty girl with long brown hair who was put straight into Hufflepuff, though she was the daughter off two Griffindors. .

_Another Weasley. _Jade smiled to herself. She liked being part of a large family. The Potters might not have had many relatives, but the extensive amount of cousins on her mother's side made up for that substantially. He must have been talking about the twins, George and Jenny's son's who grinned and waved at her down the table, entering into their third year at the school, a mischievous glint in their eyes.

The feast was like nothing that Jessie had ever eaten before. Hermione could cook, sure, but she wasn't brilliant at it. Jessie remembered well the time that she had attempted at roast such as the one that she was devouring now, and felt a pang of sympathy for her mum, the picture of her sitting dishevelled on the floor of the kitchen, tears of frustration in her eyes, after slaving away over the dinner only to have to be burnt to a crisp. She really did try hard…

A thought occurred to Jessie. A sudden, heart rattling thought, which made something in her blaze feisty like the candle that sat before her. Perhaps she wasn't a muggleborn after all…maybe her father had been a wizard…

He wouldn't have come to Hogwarts… Jessie reassured herself, suddenly scared, He couldn't have. Someone would have said something.

Her mum would have never known. Maybe that was why he left.

As soon as the thought had entered her mind, Jessie swatted it out again with a hard blow, frustrated. Even if he had, what did it matter? She didn't care about him. She hated him. He had left her mum at the most important time of her life, and she was never, _never_ going to forgive him for that, wizard or not.

"What's wrong?" Jade asked Jessie, as she ate a treckle tart thickly.

"Nothing! Why?" Jessie asked quickly. Daniel turned his attention to the girls, and away from the other second year boys, who were avidly discussing the prospect of Quidditch trials.

"You looked really mad, and your ears were going red…" Jessie clapped her hands over her ears. She hated the way that they did that. It was always a tell tale sign that she had lost her temper, and it made her mother sad, for some reason. When Jessie would get really mad, so much s that they burnt up like a ripe tomato, Hermione would seem to deflate, and grow sad, giving into the fight, whatever it was…

"Oh don't worry, mine do it too." Jade laughed, and Daniel rolled his eyes. "Annoying isn't it?"

Jessie smiled, and helped herself to some of the plum pudding that was sitting in front of her, inviting.

"Never mind, it's not important." She said airily. Jade and Lupin exchanged worried looks, but said no more. She would tell them when she was ready…

**A.N: hehe, hope that u liked that. I wrote it when I was away, and it was so hard to decipher my writing form when I was in the car! Thanks so much for all the reviews; I am seriously blown away by how nice you guys are being about my story! It makes my day! Thanks all, please keep reviewing! **

**Luv Ella Evans xXx**

**Ps; did u pick up on it? _Brown_ hair? Hehe, I couldn't say more than that, stupid hint, I know…**


	5. Letters

**A/N: hope that you like this chapter. I really enjoyed writing it! Please review it for me, love to know what you think of it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**Letters…**

_Dear Mum,_

_Well, here I am, sitting in the common room at the school for magic. Hogwarts. That's a cool name, don't you think. _

_I got put in Gryffindor house. Apparently that's meant to be a good house. I suppose that each of them say that though, don't they, when you get into them? I don't know, cant know for sure I guess. Anyway, it's the house for bravery and friendship and stuff like that. I was told that (if you will believe me) by a talking hat! Yes mum, I know what you are thinking, hats don't talk, but this one did. It sung, actually. It put everyone into houses. _

_I hope that you aren't disappointed, I didn't get into the smart house, which is Ravenclaw, but I do think that I prefer this, even though I don't know if you do! There's also Slytherin, which is sort of like Gryffindor's enemies here. I guess that the personalities don't mix; they sort of rival each other, the grudge goes back centuries, to the schools founders. I read about it in this book, it's pretty cool, it's called Hogwarts; a history. I've been reading it, got it when we went to Diagon Alley. I know that you thought it was weird there mum, but here, you have no idea! The staircases move, and so do all the pictures, and the great hall seems to have no roof…I could go on for hours, I have fallen in love with this place, and it's so big that I think it's going to take me much more than seven years if I wanted to discover all of its secrets!_

_I do have some help though…I probably shouldn't be telling you this…her dada said not too…_

_Oh well, I had better start off by telling you about my train trip here, or else you wont really understand about the map…I am getting ahead of myself again, aren't I? Oh well, I guess it's the excitement._

_So, I was on the train, walking up and down the isles, and I come across a carriage that only had one girl in it. At first, I thought that I was looking in a mirror (isn't that weird? It was only for a split second!) But then I looked closer, and saw that it was probably just because this girl had the same hair as me. Same colour, really, hers was straight and a little messy, as opposed to mine, which is thick and curly. _

_I went in, and asked if I could sit, and she said yes, and we got to talking. She's from a pureblood family. (Basically, her dad's half blood) anyway, it was quite interesting, and we looked at the candy on the sweets stand, and she told me about her little brother, and all the things that he gets up to. Her name is Jade Potter, and she's really nice. She pulled out this map, that her father had given her! It has the whole castle, and all it's secret passageways, and on it, is moving pictures of people walking around. I should be telling you this, Please don't be mad. I was just so fascinated, that's all. It even has secret ways out of the school!_

_Don't worry mum, I wont go sneaking out of the school! I just love looking at the old pages of the thing, has so much history. _

_There's one problem though. I don't show up on the map. It's as though a spell is stopping my name from appearing, the page looks whiter there. I don't know, do I belong here mum? I was so scared for a while that I wouldn't even get put in a house, I would get sent right on back home._

_I am so different. The Slytherins already hate me, because I'm a muggle, and my accent makes me stand out quite a bit, though I don't mind. I like that actually._

_I don't know, I just hope that I am good enough when it comes to the classes tomorrow._

_And another thing, you know Jade, my new friend that I was telling you about? Well, she's sort of famous. Well, not really famous, but she gets stared at quite a lot, and all the professors seem to know her, family friends of old McGonagal and all. You see, her dad defeated this dark wizard; apparently there was this big war. It's so strange. I had never even heard of him, though it does explain a little. Remember years ago, when there were people dieing all over the place? Yeah, well, that was them, the dark wizards. You have to believe me mum; I swear that it's true. _

_Anyway, Jade and another boy, a second year, Daniel, they're my friends here. Gryffindors too. Daniel's cool, and guess what? He can change what he looks like whenever he likes! He only has to think about it, doesn't need a wand or anything! It's called being a metamorphmagi. Wish that I were one, it looks like fun. Daniel Lupin._

_I hope that the owl doesn't startle you! I think that he's cute. Write a reply and then give it to him, he'll fly it back to me, don't worry. That's how we send post! You taking all this in mum?_

_Missing you, even though you're a muggle, (just joking, I love you mum!)_

_Love Jessie. XXx_

_Ps. can you please send me a plug? Like, an electric wire or something. Jades grandpa collects them! Haha. _

Hermione looked up from the letter, and groaned, She had, despite all her years of worrying, met Jade Weasley. Jade seemed nice enough, but it was just so risky…Hermione shivered to think what Ron would do to her if he found out that he had a daughter…

And now they had the map…that was dangerous. Harry was witty to remove Jessie from it; when a girl with the last name Weasley appeared where she was standing it would have been the source of many awkward questions, but all the same, the girls with the map couldn't be smart. The trouble that it got them into when they were at school!

Daniel Lupin…the metamorphmagi…Hermione laughed. That must be Tonk's son. She knew that Tonk and Remus had been expecting a child, but she had never found out anymore than that. She and Harry rarely spoke of the people she used to know, and that was the way that Hermione liked it. Thinking and talking about it made her more homesick for the wizarding world than anything else, with the exception of the tiny crumpled picture of Ron that was squashed in the back of a photo frame of Jessie when she was born.

The letter, delivered by owl, made her yearn so hard for the life that she had left behind that tears blew up into her eyes, and she had to press the balls of her hands to her eyes to prevent them coming spilling over her face and onto the letter.

Three young Gryffindor's, running around Hogwarts with the marauders map.

Hermione gave a tiny grin, and folded up the thick parchment, placing it on her dresser.

_Dear Mum and Dad. (And uncle Won Won.)_

_I got into Gryffindor! I am so proud. It might not seem like a big deal to you three, but I was so worried that I wouldn't be put there, I know how brave and all that you three were at school, I didn't want to let everyone down I suppose. Were you unsure about it? Or did you know that you were going to be placed there? You've never really spoken about that before._

_Anyway, I have made one great friend, even though it's only my first night here. And thank god she got into this house too, I don't think that I could hardly having to find a whole knew group after getting to know Jess on the train. She's got the same colour hair as me, really pretty. She's a muggleborn, really nice. I feel like I have known her for ages, though that's not possible, she grew up in Australia, has a cool accent and everything! _

_Daniels had been hanging around a lot too. I don't mind as much as I thought that I would, he's all right I guess. Show off, but he's ok. He's looked out for us a fair bit today. Some Slytherins were giving Jess a hard time when we were leaving the hall, and he told them right off, brought out his wand and everything. It was pretty cool of him. He's here now. Jess too, we're writing home. Lots of people are, sitting in the common room and writing away, scribbling with their quills. Thanks for the map too dad, it's brilliant!_

I have transfiguration first tomorrow, and I am pretty excited. And also, guess who is here? Hagrid! Did you know that he was going back to teaching this year? Pretty strange, don't you think? He says that Grawp'll take care of the shop by himself this year! I'll believe it when I see it, you two had better check up on him a bit, I'm a little worried…

Anyway, that's about all, I hope that you are all well, even though I saw you all this morning. Say hello to James for me!

_Oh, and tell grandpa that I'm getting Jessie's mum to get him a plug for him collection. She's a muggle! _

_Love you all, _

_Jade xoxo_

Harry smiled, and watched as Ginny read the letter.

"Harry!" she exclaimed, hitting him over the head hard. Harry cringed.

"Ow! What was that for?" he asked her, laughing. Ron looked over from the other lounge chair, James sitting on his knee.

"You gave her the map? She's going to get up to so much-"

"You gave Jade the map? Good on you!" said Ron, laughing and getting up off the lounge to go and peer over Ginny's shoulder at the letter, laughing.

Ginny gave him a swift wallop over the head as well.

"Harry! The map!" Ginny suddenly exclaimed.

"Um, Gin, you just said that…"

"No! Harry you idiot, it'll show-"

"Don't fret, I'm not that thick. I altered it a little. It's safe, trust me." Ginny relaxed again, and Ron didn't ask questions. He was too caught up in laughing at the comment about his father and the plugs.

_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_Well, it's another year at Hogwarts. It has been a little weird here without_ _Mark, but it isn't as bad as I thought. I have been with Jade the most of the day actually. Little Potter's actually pretty cool. Don't worry mum, I haven't been giving her that bad a time._ _She's all right, really. Potter's got this map, it's so mad, you tap it, and it has the while castle, like, spread out, and you can see people walking and all the secret passageways. It's gonna be great to give the Slytherins a bad time!_

Remus groaned, and handed the letter to Tonks, who skimmed over it, her eyes widening.

"Bloody Harry! Giving the kids the map! They'll be in trouble this year…"

"Remus-"

"I thought that he would have known, after two generations of landing in detentions and getting hexed by Slytherins, I thought that he would have known what that map can do…"

"Remus didn't you-"

"All the secret passageways out of the school!"

"Remus would you look at this! Would you read the rest of the letter!"

_She's got this friend too. Jessie Granger. She looks kind of like Jade, red hair, pretty. Really nice. They seem cool enough, even though they are little first years. _

_Anyway, I'm gonna go. Not that much to tell, except that I am all right. _

_Hope you two are well. _

_Love Daniel _

Remus Lupin stared at the name, and the description that came after it.

"It can't be…" he breathed. Digging his hand into his pockets he pulled out a tiny bag of floo powder, and threw it into the flames of the fire.

"Godrics Hollow!" he roared, and stepped into the flames, confusion bubbling in his brain as he spun through the warm breathe of the fire.


	6. Slughorn

**A/N: So sorry about the inaccuracies concerning the speed of owl post. I know how far away Australia is, and I am sorry that I didn't allow for all that…I realised it once I had finished, please don't get mad! Thanks so much for reading this far! Means heaps to me, seriously, thanks! Please Review!**

**Luv Ella xXx**

"Harry!" Lupin said, getting out of the fire.

Harry looked up from where he and Ginny sat at the table, little James' head poking up from his chair, only just reaching the table.

"Remus! What's wrong?" Harry said, standing up to greet him, and gestured at a seat at the table. Lupin didn't take it.

"Harry, you gave them the map?" he said, exasperated.

"Oh, not you too?" Harry moaned. "Bloody Hermione was just-"

Harry stopped himself, and Remus raised an eyebrow, unsurprised. Ginny looked scandalised, and James banged his fists on the table, oblivious to it all.

"Don't worry, I know." Remus said, sitting down at the table wearily. "Now why don't you tell me what this is all about?"

Hagrid smiled across the great hall at Daniel, Jade and Jessie, who were sitting at there Griffindor table, chatting away happily, looking at the timetables that McGonagal had just issued to them all. He was glad that Harry had talked him into coming back.

"Oh come on, he cant be that bad." Jade said to Daniel, almost pleading. Daniel chuckled.

"No, he's worse." He said, nodded eagerly. " He's so boring that he puts himself to sleep, I'm telling you!"

He was referring, of course, to the History of Magic teacher, Professor Binns. Jessie wasn't interrogating Daniel as avidly as Jade was, as she was still suffering a mild shock upon hearing that a ghost was going to be one of their teachers.

The shock had almost worn off, when hundreds of owls came flooding in through the high windows, and dropped packages and letters on their owners laps, and breakfasts. Daniel laughed at the way her eyes opened in amazement.

"Happens every morning, you'll get used to it." He said bracingly, and got up from his chair to go and compare timetables with some other friends further down the table.

"Potions first up. That should be all right. We have it with that Slughorn guy, who showed us in last night, don't we?" Jessie said to Jade. Jade rolled her eyes.

"Yes. Dad told me about him. Apparently he has a club, where he gets people with famous parents and talent and things like that, and uses them to get treats and things."

"Where do we have it?"

"Potions? It's in the dungeons. With the Slytherins too." Jade moaned, and spared a glance for the table on the other side of the hall.

"And then we've got herbology, with the Hufflepuffs." Jessie added, scanning the timetable, a little excited. Herbology was followed by double charms and

The girls made their way down to the dungeons, and when Slughorn let them in Jessie and Jade scrambled for seats at the back, hoping that they wouldn't be called ion to answer any questions before the class begun.

Everyone seemed nervous about the first lesson of the year. It didn't help that Slughorn size and superiority made him an intimidating figure for the first years.

Slughorn began the class by reading out the roll, calling the names of each of the students in turn.

When he got to Jessie's name, however, he stopped, and looked up, his eyes shining triumphantly.

"Granger? Are you maybe related to the woman who assisted in the defeat of He Who Must Not Be Named? The author of Defence Spells for the twenty-first century?" Slughorn asked eagerly, looking over the top of his roll. Jessie shook her head.

"No sir, I am muggleborn, I don't think so." She said. The Slytherins sniggered from the other side of the room. One boy was prominent among them, for many of the other Slytherin first years seemed to look to him as a sort of leader. His white blonde hair was slinked back over his head, and he had a face that was slightly squashed, almost like that of a pug. Jessie and Jade recognised him as one of the boys who had given them a hard time the previous night.

Slughorn looked disappointed, and continued down the list without any further inquiry. He gave the blonde haired boy a swift look when he answered to the name Zeke Malfoy,but didn't even falter again until his eyes came to rest on Jade's surname, and he gave her a warm smile, and winked.

"Of course, I knew your father, did I not? And your mother too. Extraordinary witch she was." He said happily, and continued on, leaving Jade to roll her eyes.

The potions lesson was mostly just Slughorn talking, and by the end of it they still hadn't performed any magic. Jessie was getting anxious now. She desperately wanted to know if she were any good at it. The fact that she was a muggleborn had given her a wild craving to prove herself, and she wanted the opportunity.

They headed to herbology, and Jessie immediately saw a Hufflepuff girl that she knew. She and Suzie Thomas had already been introduced, in Diagon Alley.

Suzie gave here a cheerful wave, and a fake looking smile, almost like she were a muggle Barbie doll, the kind that didn't move, their face permanently curved into a grin that you knew they couldn't have wanted to keep plastered on their for all eternity. Jessie ignored this feeling, however, and gave her a happy wave back, glad to know someone else. Jade had so many connections from all over the place. Jessie liked the thought that she had one too, no matter how small it was.

In the greenhouse, Jessie stared around in amazement at all the different types of plants that surrounded them in the room. A Gryffindor boy was staring around with wide eyes, his round face beading with sweat from antagonising anticipation. It was clear that he was looking forward to this subject the most. He had a mop of messy, dishwater blond hair on his head, and slightly buck teeth. Professor Sprout gave him a grin, before she started the lesson.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Hermione, you are going to tell him. This is stupid." Ginny said wearily, her head in her hands. She was sick and tired of having the same kind of conversation with her old friend. Hermione was being extremely stubborn.

Ginny was worried. It seemed that everyone now knew. Remus knew. Hagrid knew. Tonks knew.

Ron would be the last to find out, if Hermione had her way, and she did not want that to be the case. Everyone who knew had agreed however, that it had to be Hermione who told him. It had to be her. No one else could pipe up, no mater how hard they wanted to. Remus had agreed to this begrudgingly, not wanting to get too heavily involved in something that was already so complicated. Hagrid, though annoyed that Ron was left in the dark, had agreed to take up his old post at the school and keep an eye out for the girls. Daniel would work it out sooner or later, surely. According to the letters that they had been getting home, he and the girls were quite inseparable these days.

"I cant Ginny! Don't you know how mad he is going to be?"

"Hermione! It's his kid! That is a weak and cowardly reason to keep it from him, because you'll scared that you'll get hurt! He has a right to know, and he'll find out sometime! You're being a coward Hermione! I thought that you were brave. You're a Gryffindor…"

"I _was_ a Gryffindor Ginny. Now I'm a muggle."

"At least be a brave one." Said Ginny softly, though her words sliced though Hermione's gut as though Ginny had shouted them ruthlessly. She sunk down onto her lounge chair, her face in her hands, as Ginny strode to the front door and left. She passed right by the owl that swooped in the doorway after her. She apparated back to Godrics Hollow.

Hermione didn't notice the owl in the house until she received a harsh peck on arm, and she opened her eyes to see it staring at her, grumpy. Hermione sighed, untying the letter from its leg. Even the owl seemed to be angry with her. How could a mistake so long ago still be haunting her so much now? The decision that she had made hastily as an eighteen year old still there to scorn her?

She unfurled the letter, and the owl promptly took off, flying out the window.

_Dear Mum, _

_Thanks for the plug! Jade was very excited (weird, I know, don't get me started). _

_Well, I have done magic! Charms class, on my first afternoon here was the first time that I ever had to use my wand, and it was the best feeling ever! Old Flitwick, the charms professor, he clapped me really hard, because I was the only one to get the spell in the whole class! Me! The muggleborn! It was so satisfying, because the Slytherins, they were in the class too, and I wish that I could have taken a picture of their faces and sent it to you mum. You can never imagine the feeling…_

Hermione didn't have to imagine it. She could remember it. As though it were yesterday she could see her eleven year old self, stealing a look at the Slytherins faces, becoming prouder at her own magic the more gob smacked they became. It was the best feeling, to show the people who acted like that that they were wrong. But she couldn't share that with her daughter. She couldn't share any of it.

Jade and Daniel say that we are going to be taught how to fly soon. Yes, fly, on broomsticks. I am nervous. Jade says not to be; she's looking forward to it a lot. Then again her father could have flown for England, of course she's looking forward to it.

_I am going down to Hagrid's house for dinner tomorrow night. We got a letter from Jades dad telling us not to accept any sort of stew or casserole from him, but that the treacle tarts and rock cakes aren't that bad. He sounds funny. _

_Daniel got on the Quidditch team here too! I am so proud of him. Quidditch is the kind of sport that they play. On broomsticks. Daniel got the position as the chaser, I am really excited for the first game, Gryffindor verses Ravenclaw. _

Also, I have been spending quite a lot of time on the library. I'm helping Jade research this lady that she knows, who went here. It's really interesting, all the old books, but so far we haven't found the woman that we want to look for. Mind you, we only have a picture stolen from her uncle's wallet to go by, so we're not hopeful.

I hope that this letter finds you well, and that you aren't too lonely all there by yourself. Invite a nice guy over mum. Go on. Do it.

Love Jessie xXx

**A/N: Please review! I enjoyed writing Slughorn! Though I will admit that I had a little bit of a writer block for a while! Sorry about that! Thanks heaps for reading this far! And thanks for all the feedback, good and otherwise that I have been receiving for this story! As long as you don't fill your review with Bubotuber puss, I think that it can only make me a better writer, so thanks for taking the time!**

**Luv Ella xXx**


	7. Dinner with Hagrid

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Harry Potter. **

Zeke Malfoy was up to something. It wasn't just the fact that he was sneaky in class, and often caught staring at Jessie in the Great Hall, shrewdly. It wasn't even the fact that Jades parents had warned her to stay away from him at all costs. He was up to something, and the superior air that he wore when talking to the girls only made them all the more suspicious. Jade had taken to drawing out her marauders map at night, and watching him on it. He would go, for long periods at a time, to the forbidden forest, as though he was searching for something.

This quickly became an obsession for Jade.

"Where is he tonight?" Daniel asked one night, in their second week, yawning widely. The three friends were sitting by the Gryffindor fire, and Jade was pouring over the map intently, while Jessie finished a potions essay.

"In the library again." She said, looking up. "I don't know what he's doing there, either, but he's obviously up to something. We haven't had that much homework."

"Does that mean that we are up to something then?" asked Jessie, reluctant to speak; not taking her attention away from the foot long essay that was trailing over the edge of the table. Jade didn't look up either.

She did understand where Jessie was coming from. The three of them had spent a lot of time in the library over the past two weeks, looking through recent books and Hogwarts records for traces of the woman that had been such good friends with Jade's parents. Their crinkled picture didn't reveal much, however, and they still had no trace of a name. It was almost as though the truth were being hidden from them; torn out pages of books haunted their keen minds, and where there were obvious ink stains on the thick parchment of old Hogwarts records they were sure must hold some clue to the past.

Jessie watched the window, which the owl had flown through and hour before hand. She almost wished that it would come soaring back in if she stared hard enough, the sudden absence of her mum making her yearn for home, no matter how much she was enjoying herself at Hogwarts.

Daniel, Jessie and Jade were invited down to Hagrid's cabin for dinner the next night. Jessie was rather excited about this. She was proud that she had met the man before school, and he was always welcoming when they passed around the school, giving the girls cheery waves and a broad smile, winking occasionally. Jade had known him all her life, and told Jessie a very funny story about Hagrid's pet dragon, Norbert, which had obviously been told one too many times around the dinner table at home, when conversation topics were scarce. It ended with her uncle's friends flying the baby dragon off the top of the astronomy tower illegally. Jessie laughed very hard.

After a long day of classes, and still no letter back from Hermione, the three of them paced their way across the grounds, pulling their cloaks around them against the swirling autumn air, as the days grew shorter and the breeze cooled down.

"Glad you came! Come in, come in!" Hagrid boomed, letting them in the door, his giant boarhound of a dog bounding up to them excitedly, great strands of drool dribbling dangerously out of his large jaws and dripping onto their robes.

"Get off them Fang! Let 'em in, let em in!" Hagrid laughed, and Fang looked guilty, and sulked around to sit behind Hagrid's chair, head on his large round paws, his eyes open and staring. Jessie gave him a scratch on the head, and took a seat at Hagrid's table.

They ate dinner, which Hagrid served up, proclaiming proudly that it was beef casserole, and that they were to make sure to tell Harry how nice and talon free they found it. The nice part they could keep, the talon free part of the deal was not so iron clad, however, they ate it all, and smiled broadly at Hagrid's tear-filled eyes as he scanned the three eleven year olds sitting before him proudly.

They sat around and heard Hagrid's side of the Norbert story next, with a lot more sympathy for the dragon, and a lot less for Ron's mangled fingers, but Jade wasn't interested in that. She was much too busy looking at the picture on Hagrid's mantle piece.

"Hagrid." She said, turning around. "Who is that girl? The one in all the pictures of dad?"

There were four pictures on Hagrid's mantle piece. One was of three young kids, about the age of eleven, wearing neat, clean Hogwarts robes and smiling at the camera happily. They were moving, as all wizarding pictures did. In this one, the young boy with flaming red hair was poking his tongue out behind a girl with bushy hair's back, while she smiled sweetly, tiny dimples protrudent in her face. Another boy, with bright, emerald green eyes and messy black hair, rolled his eyes and then laughed at the red haired boy, waving at the camera.

The second picture was of a man, who was short, with Hagrid's beady black eyes. An eleven-year-old Hagrid stood next to him, an apple tree in the foreground. They both looked happy.

The third picture was one of Hagrid, Fang, and his brother, Grawp. The picture was taken form quite a distance away, and half of Grawp still seemed missing from the picture. Jessie giggled at this.

It was the forth picture, however, that made her gasp.

It was a picture of the same three teenagers that she had seen in the first picture. One she recognised to be her father, Harry. Another was her uncle, Ron. They were wearing dress robes, Ron's seemed to have been savaged and hacked at around the hems. Harry's were a deep bottle green, and made him look rather dashing.

The third person in the picture, when sat so near to the other picture, this version depicting their fourteen-year-old selves, tied together everything for Jade as she hadn't seen before.

The girl, who looked so familiar, was one that she had seen many times. She was standing on her own mantle piece at home; she had been the bridesmaid at her parents wedding. In this picture she wasn't smiling as happily as in the one of that wedding day. She would every so often look over at Ron and scowled, before replacing the frown with an obviously forced smile. The girl on the picture was looing extremely pretty, in this particular portrait, wearing stunning robes of periwinkle blue.

This picture, with her looking young, and yet dolled up so prettily, linked together all the pictures that Jade had ever seen of the woman; the one in the hall, on their first night at Hogwarts, the picture in her own home, and the tiny one, stolen from Ron Weasley's wallet and the one of them in their first year. This was the woman that she had been scouting the library for. She had found her.

Hagrid looked uncomfortable.

"Oh no one, just a woman that I used to know."

"Where is she now? What is her name?" asked Daniel, catching on, his hair transforming smoothing into a persuasive bottle green. Hagrid stared, and then shook his head, as though trying to despatch himself of a very irritable fly.

"She's…" he seemed to be casting around randomly. His eyes fell back onto the mantle piece, and he watched the pictures smiling faces.

"She's dead." He answered finally, putting a lot of emotion into his voice.

Daniel eyed him suspiciously. There was something that wasn't right. Hagrid was not nearly as upset as he should have been, when talking about a departed friend. She couldn't be dead.

Jade stared at him.

"Is that why no one will talk of her any more?" she asked, looking at him empathetically, "What was her name?"

Hagrid's eyes widened, horrified, and he stood up abruptly from his chair, walking towards the door.

"Would you look at that? Look what the time is! Any later and you lot will be in trouble with Filch-"

"Hagrid! Why wont you even tell me her name? What harm could there be in that?"

"Seriously you three, I don't want you on detentions in your first two weeks, no matter how proud that would make Harry…"

"Hagrid!"

"Thanks for coming! Bye!"

The three young Gryffindors stood, staring at the large wooden door that had just shut in their face. They exchanged surprised looks before heading up to the castle, hastily. Hagrid was right, even if he did have an abrupt way of putting it; the caretaker would flay them alive if they didn't get to bed soon…

**A/N: ah haha. Very fun to write. Hope that it wasn't too bad to read. Please tell me so, in your review! Just click that little blue button! Yes! That's the way! It's very much appreciated!**

**Luv Ella Evans xXx**


	8. Suzie Thomas

**A/N: enjoy and review! And this chapter is dedicated to my lovely reviewer, **

"What" said Jessie, when they sat own in the common room, "Was that all about?"

They had just gotten back from Hagrid's, after being abruptly thrown from his cabin, and none of them were any the wiser hen it came to knowing the identity of the woman from their past.

Jade shook her head. "I have no idea."

Daniel was puzzled. Hagrid kicking them out like that, not meeting their eye, was so out of character that it wasn't funny.

"I just wish that I knew who she was! Her face is everywhere! I think I must have seen five pictures of her now-"

"Five?" Dan asked, looking away from the fire quickly. Jade nodded slowly.

"Yes, the two at Hagrid's, the one that we stole from Ron, the one at home, and…" she trailed off, and a sudden realisation dawned on her face.

"That's it! I think I've got it! I think I know where we'll find her!"

"Where?" Jess asked, cocking an eyebrow at the maniacal expression now plastered on her friends face. Jade grinned.

"The old Head Girl and Boy portraits! Remember Jess? When we first came to the castle, they took us into the room with all the old Head Boys and Girls on the wall! She was there! She must have been Head Girl! Of course!"

Jade was smiling in a wonderfully triumphant way, and Jessie and Daniel looked stunned. They had pinpointed her. There was a book, they all knew, in the library, which was a clear record of the names of every Head that had passed through the school since it's formation thousand years ago. It was one of the next places they had panned to look, though the names of the students were so selective that they were trying broader things first, which seemed to suit what they knew about the girl's personalties. For example, they had checked the accounts of who had been awarded first place in Defence Against the Dark Arts, but Jades dad had, predictably, been the only name visible in for the years that they were at the school. They had also been to see the trophy room, where two proud plaques stood, awarding Ron Weasley and Harry Potter special Awards for Services to the School, which were achieved in their second year. A third did not stand among them.

With the burden of the mysterious girls identity lifted off the three friends shoulders, they bid each other goodnight, and headed off to bed, falling quickly into easy sleeps, with the thought that they would know who she was the next morning, as soon as the library opened.

All, with the exception of Jade, who took out her map and checked where Zeke was before she hit the pillow. There he was, a tiny black dot, sitting motionless in the Slytherin first year dormitory. Jessie closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

OooOoOoOoOoOoOo

"What do you mean it isn't here?" asked Jade, her mouth dropping open, as Madame Filch, the somewhat cruel librarian who was married to the caretaker, peered down at them over her long nose. She was quite suspicious. First years very rarely waited until the library was open, and then preceded to charge inside, first thing in the morning.

The three young Gryffindors who were staring up at her now, wearing faces of utter disbelief, were hardly the ecstatic and excitable children she had let in a moment earlier.

"I mean," she replied, with an impatient air, "That the book you are searching for was hired out last night."

"Last night?" Daniel asked, his voice strained, knowing the worst, "Last night, by who?"

"A professor actually. Professor Hagrid. Now do you want to borrow a book or are you just here to cause trouble?" Madame Filch replied irritably. They exchanged gloomy looks, and the excitement, which had bubbled in them dangerously for the last twelve hours, sizzled into nothing. Jade shook her head.

"No, we've changed our minds, sorry." Jade said, and they left the library, with heavy hearts.

"He came last night after we left... he has to have." Jessie said out loud, no one bothering to agree or disagree with her. They were all thinking the same thing.

"I was sure that we were going to find her…" Jade muttered, "Sure…"

Daniel brightened up a little when they reached the Great Hall, for the Gryffindor table cheered him loudly as they took their seats. The girls eyed him questioningly.

"Quidditch is soon." He said, eating his breakfast, excitably. "I'm on the team, I'll be a hero for a few days. If we win then maybe more!"

Jade and Jessie rolled their eyes, but couldn't hide the fact that they were incredibly excited about the first Quidditch match of the season. Judging by the lighting blue colour Daniels eyes changed as he spoke so was he.

"I don't even know the rules to Quidditch…" Jessie muttered glumly, swirling her spoon lazily in her cereal, meaning her words to form merely a passing comment. They didn't. A loud clang meant that Daniel had dropped his fork on the ground, and Jade had conspicuously spat orange juice all down her front.

"Don know the rules to Quidditch?" Daniel asked, in utter astonishment. Jessie turned a deep shade of red, and shook her head. Daniel and Jade exchanged excited looks, and set about explaining every last detail to her, which resulted in all three of them being late for their first class of the day.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Harry!" Ron Weasley's voice echoed up through the house, stepping out of the fireplace. It was early morning, before Harry would be at work. Ginny and Harry, however, were not in the kitchen, eating breakfast, as was customary for that hour of the morning. They were, instead, upstairs, trying to coax James out of the high cupboard, where he had flown himself on Harry's broomstick.

"Harry? Ginny?" Ron called again, before starting up the stairs.

"Come on Jamesie, come on, jump into daddy's hands." Coaxed Ginny, who was standing next to Harry in the bedroom, his arms stretched high, large fake grins on their faces. James giggled, and shook his head.

Harry pulled out his wand.

"Accio James." He called, and the small boy came flying through the air to Harry, who caught him, and scowled at him for being so naughty. James didn't seem upset at this. He merely laughed, cutely, again, and yelled in a triumphant way; "James fly! James flew! Fly me again Daddy! Fly!"

Ron snorted from the door of the bedroom, and Ginny and Harry whipped around, to see his livid face.

"Harry, Harry did you take something from my wallet?" he asked, trying to control his breathing so that he didn't appear so angry. Harry shook his head, confused.

"No…why would I take money from you?" He asked. Ron looked shocked.

"No…" he sighed. "No, not money…it's just that you are the only one who…I thought that maybe…never mind." Ron walked out of the room, leaving three very confused Potters in his wake. Ginny and Harry exchanged surprised looks, and waited a moment before following Ron down the staircase. James grumbled. He tugged at Harry's sleeve. He was confused because he wasn't being the centre of attention…

"Ron? What was all that about?" Harry asked, when they reached the kitchen. It looked like Ron was getting back to apperate back to his apartment. Ron shook his head.

"Never mind Harry, it doesn't really matter anyway." He grumbled, before disappearing with a loud crack.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other. They hoped that it wasn't something to do with Jessie. Actually, in a way they hoped that it was something to do with Jessie. Ginny sighed, and took hold of James, who had started to cry from lack of attention. Neither of them was sure what they wanted anymore…

Ron sat down on the couch in his living room, in the flat that he owned himself, in the centre of London. He worked in a small shop next to the twins joke shop, running courses for defence against the dark arts. Every so often he would help out at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. It was very convenient.

The sun had barely risen, and yet Ron Weasley was feeling considerably depressed. In fact, he felt like crying, but tears had long forsaken him, and he had reached the point in his despair where he realised that they were good for nothing anyway.

Looking around Ron's apartment, one would hardly recognise it as the same place it had been the night before. It appeared as though someone had torn through it, ransacking the place crudely. They had, however, done nothing of the sort.

Ron put his head in his hands, weary. He had been up all night, looking for the tiny picture that had gone missing from his wallet. He didn't like to look at it much. Dwelling on the past made his heart ache in a way that can't be described. When he did look at the little picture of Hermione Granger, he felt everything he had ever felt for her come rushing back in a monstrous flood of emotion.

Last night, he had had a dream about her. One of the old dreams, where he would wake up in a cold sweat, feeling as though he really had just run after her for the millionth time, charging down the street, begging her forgiveness, her understanding. It was all a mistake. It was just a stupid mistake. He hadn't even made the stupid mistake, and here he was, paying for it.

Ron had taken out his old, battered up wallet, and flicked through, looking for her familiar face. And it wasn't there. He had proceeded, then, to tear the whole place apart, searching for it in scampered disarray. It was nowhere to be found.

Harry was the only person that he could think of who would even know about the picture, let alone steal it, so he waited until he knew they would be awake, and flooed to their house.

And now, here he was, sitting amongst the ruins of his belongings. And, more importantly, thinking deeply about the battered ruins of his life…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Suzie Thomas looked up from where she was sitting, alone, in charms class. Jessie Granger and Jade Weasley were standing there, smiling at her awkwardly.

"Do you mind if we sit here?" Jessie asked her, bravely. Suzie nodded. Her friends were mostly in Ravenclaw, and she was yet to become close friends with anyone in her own class, which left her sitting alone in many of her lessons. Jessie and Jade took a seat at the same table, Jessie closest to Suzie. Suzie smiled.

"I never really got properly introduced to you that day." Jessie said, trying to make conversation with the girl as the rest of the class forwarded in, and tiny professor Flitwick took his place at the front of the classroom, atop a teetering pile of books.

"I'm Jessie Granger, and this is Jade Potter. Your Suzie, right?" she continued, kindly. Suzie grinned, and let her personality ooze out of her smiling face, now that she was introduced.

"Yes, that's right. I'm in Hufflepuff. Kind of embarrassing, seeing as my parents were both in Gryffindor. I wish that I could have been there, we would have been great friends." Jessie opened her mouth to say that they could still be great friends, and Jade to mention that her father had told her wonderful stories about a very brave Hufflepuff, but Suzie continued to talk, and so both their sentences trailed off into nothing.

"Yes, I am quite disappointed, though I'm not saying that this house isn't great or anything. I mean, I would rather this than Slytherin, say. I'm not from a pureblood family, see. Well, both my parents are wizards, but my dads a muggleborn, and my mothers half and half, so I don't think that they would be that nice to me. And anyway, that Malfoy kid that they all swarm over scares me a little. And his fashion scene is so out. His hair is ghastly!"

Suzie let all these words stream out of her mouth extremely fast, and when she was finished, Jade and Jessie looked shocked, and exchanged slightly intimidated glances. Luckily, Professor Flitwick cleared his throat at the front of the classroom.

"Now today, we are going to be learning how to make things fly…" he squeaked, and Jessie began to take notes, frantically.

A/N: hope that you enjoyed this! I am back at school now, and I will try and do my best to keep the updates coming frequently, though please don't hate me if they do slow down. I really am going to try hard! I am doing the Aussie equivalent to the OWLs this year though, so sorry if I am a tad preoccupied! I am still going to try and reply to all of your reviews. O!and to Liv, my the reviewer! (I have replied to everyone else privately, but this was an anon, and I really wanted to wb!

**Liv: reading back, since you reviewed, I realised that I didn't explain what Hermione did fully. I am going to try and work it into following chapters, thanks heaps for bringing it to my attention. When she left, she changed her entire appearance, with the exception of her eyes. She now has blonde hair, short and straight, and her face is a little longer, with softer features, and tanned skin. Only her eyes remain the same. That was the last magic that she ever performed. :p otherwise the characters would look really stupid eh? Thanks heaps and heaps for reviewing! And that goes out to everyone, btw! Thankyou so so so much! I am so blown away by your beautiful reviews!**

**Luv Ella xXx**


	9. Qudditch

**A/N: I started school again today  sorry if the updates aren't as speedy now! This chapter had too versions to it. Alternate endings. **

**The first was more conventional for me. The second was more dramatic, and more of a cliff-hanger. Lets just say that in one version, a certain something is hereditary. Who knows which version THIS is though.haha, have fun with THAT. Thanks so much for reading this so far! And reviewing! Means so much to me, all your reviews, I keep every one of them! And I rely! So please please review! Please?**

**Luv Ella xXx**

The air was thick with tension and the crowd was loud with cheers. Daniel was nervous. His stomach was turning dangerously, and the comforting whispers that were coming form his friends, were not helping in the slightest.

"So let me get this straight? Marly has to get that little golden ball before the other seeker does?" Jessie said slowly. Jade brushed this comment aside. They had been receiving simular ones, all morning, in the same, slow, uncertain tone. She was patting Daniels back reassuringly. The normally confident boy was now shaking slightly, his hair an unnatural red and his eyes a sparkling gold for the occasion.

"Don't worry Dan, you'll do fine! Remember all those games in the garden at home? Remember how great you are?"

"Remember how you kicked my-"

"Lupin! Get in here! We're going out!" called Marly Jones, the captain of the Gryffindor team. Daniel tugged his scarlet robes closer to his body, and steeped back into the change rooms.

"You'll do fine!" called Jade once more, after him, while Jessie muttered things under her breath such as "bludgers hit them, quaffles score…"

Jade kicked her in the shins.

"Oh! Good luck Dan!" Jess cried, and gave Jade a sheepish grin. They ran to get seats, before the game begun.

The girls battled their way through the stands, to where the Weasley twins, Arthur and Carter, were saving them seating, using mock swords to scare off anyone who dared come near the spots they were guarding for Jade and Jessie,

"Get back you scurvy knave!" cried one of them, probably Carter, judging by the jumper he was wearing, supporting a large C. It was hard to tell though. They did like to swap them from time to time, just to confuse the rest of the world.

"On-guard!" cried Arthur, when the girls reached their seats. Carter hit him over the head with his sword, which bounced back as though it were only made of rubber.

"You dolt! It's them!" Carter cried. Arthur looked shocked with himself, and let them in. "Sorry girls, got carried away with the game…" he muttered, and they took their seats. Jessie was scanning the Quidditch pitch in utter amazement, the spiralling colours and the tall goalposts making her eyes water. Carter saw her looking.

"You wait til they start playing." He said bracingly, and she smiled. "I'll say that Marly Jones could even go on and play for a team when she leaves next year."

"Chuddley Cannons!" cried Arthur, hearing this. Carter rolled his eyes.

""A good team Arthur." He said, and Arthur looked offended.

"They are a good team! Better that Puddlemere United!"

"Oi!"

But Jessie was no longer listening. She had heard that name before…Chuddley Cannons…they must be a Quidditch team…maybe she had heard someone mention it at Hogwarts…her mind wandered. Then it came to her…like a reel of film was rolling through her head, she saw her nine-year-old self sitting in the living room at her old house in Australia.

"Who's playing?" came her mum's voice, floating in from the kitchen where she was, no doubt, concocting yet another burnt up mess.

"_West Tigers and the Dragons!" she hollered back, not taking her eyes from the television. She could almost see her mother roll her eyes, standing in the doorway sceptically, though trying desperately to sound interested. She wasn't into sports. She never would be. It was, however, something that her father would have done, watch the football with her, and she didn't want Jessie to miss out on anything._

"_West Tigers?" she asked, laughing, "They don't sound much better than the Chuddley Cannons!"_

_It was as though Hermione had coughed, when she had meant to sneeze. It was like she had screamed, when she only meant to whisper. She made a move, as if to clasp her hand over her mouth._

_Jessie had hardly noticed then. She was only nine years old, and it wasn't as though the name meant anything to her. _

"_Who are they?" she asked Hermione.. It was half time, anyway._

"_Oh, just an old soccer team from back in England." Hermione brushed the topic off, easily, and Jessie went back to staring at the television, Hermione retreating into the kitchen once more._

Jessie was puzzled now. Her mum must have known about Quidditch. She must have known about the cannons. Somehow…or, maybe…maybe there really was a soccer team called the cannons. That had to be it. Her mum was as big a muggle as anyone; there was no way that she could learn about Quidditch.

Jessie pushed the though well out of her mind, and focused on keeping up with what was happening on the pitch, as the Ravenclaw team sped out onto the Quidditch pitch, amid rowdy cheers from the Slytherins and the Ravenclaws, and some of the Hufflepuffs too.

Then it was the Gryffindors turn. They may not have had as many cheering for them, but the noise that the Gryffindors made seemed a whole lot louder to Jessie. Maybe it was the fact that she was seated next to the twins.

When Daniel came shooting onto the field, Jade jumped excitedly onto her seat, Jessie following her. The twins were immensely proud. They waved their hands above their head.

Daniels eager eyes sought them out in the crowd. He finally caught Jades eye, and relaxed slightly. She cheered even louder. Daniel seemed a little less nervous now that he had taken the plunge out of the change rooms and into the centre of the crowd. He seemed to be much more comfortable now that he had mounted his broomstick.

"Annnnd, the Griffindore team!" the commentator, Cameron King roared into a magical megaphone from a high stand, where Professor McGonagal sat, staring down at her old house proudly.

The captains shock hands, and both the teams flew to the ground, and faced the flying teaching, and the referee, Mrs Harrington, who was a sharp-featured witch, with purple coloured eyes.

Her whistle gave a sharp jolt, and all the players pushed off quickly from the ground, soaring into the air amid roars of encouragement, Daniel seizing the snitch and shooting up to the other end of the pitch quickly, the goal keeper only just taking his position at the hoops to block Dan as he tried to score.

There were loud groans from the Gryffindor end, as he saved the shot, and passed it quickly to the Ravenclaws, who ducked around Daniel with easy, and sped straight in the opposite direction.

The blue clad supporter cheered stridently, and so did many of the other students, as the Ravenclaw chaser sent the bright red quaffle soaring through the goal hoops. The Gryffindor Keeper wasn't that strong.

Daniel cursed himself for missing the shot, and flew straight down to the Ravenclaw end of the field, desperate to do some damage control.

The commentator was talking quickly, his eyes darting all over the Quidditch pitch as the game progressed.

"…And Harper passes to Lupin, who passed to Johnson, who drops the quaffle, which is caught strategically by Harper again, who throws it forward to Lupin-"

A bludger was pelted hard in Daniels direction, and he moved to the side, feeling the wind graze his ear as it rushed past him.

Thrown off, he tried the shot. It didn't even go near the hoop.

The Gryffindors groaned again. Jessie and Jade were worried now. It was clear that Daniel was being thrown off, and that he wasn't playing nearly as well as he normally did. He could fly fine, and he was great at dodging about, but when he got to the goalposts he seemed to loose his nerve.

Jessie was watching every move that the players made intently, following it keenly, and trying to understand every foul that went on, so that she didn't appear to be an inept muggle. She was actually quite proud of herself, considering she didn't know the rules to the game a few days ago. Jade, however, did not share in this pride. She seemed to have been born knowing about Quidditch, and, at the moment, she was much too worried about Daniel to be dishing out praise.

Daniel gulped, and tried not to look his teammates in the eye. He didn't look for his friend's faces in the crowd, either, no matter how comforted he was by them. He didn't want them to see the shame, filling his eyes and making his vision blurry.

From then on, Daniel didn't even try to score. He would shoot up the field. He would set up the shot, and he would pass the ball.

Daniel continued this way, until the Gryffindor team was on a very impressive one hundred and ninety points. The Ravenclaws were on ten.

They were, though far ahead, tired, and if the snitch wasn't caught soon then there was a chance they could be playing into the night. Daniel didn't want that. He was already exhausted, and shooting up and down the pitch, backwards and forwards, was very draining, no matter how great the thrill of flying was. Marly needed to catch the snitch soon, or…

Daniels eyes grew wide. He felt as though the lights were being turned out and he was falling. His stomach seemed to leave his broom far behind and go catapulting towards the ground, far below.

It was a full moon tonight.

**A/N: yep. Hereditary. **

**Luv Ella xXx **

**Cough review cough**


	10. Greyback

**A/N: ok, ok, I know I said hereditary, but I thought that this would be more interesting. Hope that u enjoy it! Sorry about the long wait, I don't have that much access to the Internet! I take what I can get! Tanks for all of ur reviews, the good and the bad! Thanks heaps! And thanks to all the people who PM me as well! I really have great fun talking to u guys, please don't stop! And anyone else! Please, talk to me about anything, I don't mind! I promise that I will always write back!lol, thanks for everything! **

Luv Ella xXx 

Daniel couldn't remember a full moon when he hadn't transformed. He had grown up that way. It was life for him, as it was for his father. It was painful to turn into a werewolf. The wolfsbane potion made it a lot better. He heard stories from Remus about what it had been like before the potion was invented. Daniel shivered at the thought.

But he hadn't taken the potion tonight. He was still circling, in the air, watching as Gryffindor climbed higher and higher up the scoreboard, and yet the game continued. The sun was getting dangerously low in the sky. Marly Jones was circling also, up a little higher than Daniel, her eyes peeled, frustrated, for the evasive golden snitch, was still nowhere to be seen.

Remus was looking for the snitch now, as well. He didn't even notice when the quaffle soared his way, and it fell short, by about a metre, dropping down to where a waiting Ravenclaw hovered, with surprised, grateful arms.

There were cried of alarm from the crowd. Daniel groaned. He had missed a pass, and the crowd was screaming. Whether they were supporting him, or they were Ravenclaws cheering at the sudden burst of luck, Daniel didn't care, or notice. They blended together gracefully; a jumble of sound, and Daniel cringed apologetically at the rest of his team, who put his distraction down to tiredness. They were all exhausted as well. At least none of them would grow fangs and maul the spectators if the game went past dusk. They were probably just worried that the prolonged game would cut into their partying time…

Daniel hadn't even been one year old when he had received the bite. The war was almost over. No one knew that, at the time, of course, but it was coming to an end. Daniel was always bouncing around on a toy broomstick, or changing the colour of his hair, and the shape of his face, so that his parents couldn't find him in the park. He was a right little prankster, and he knew it.

Remus Lupin, meanwhile, was worried. He knew that Greyback still he'd a grudge. Greyback does not forgive. Greyback does not forget. And Fenir Greyback would not willingly pass up the chance to contaminate a small child, should one stray across his path. And Daniel did.

Greyback didn't come for Daniel, originally. He was ordered, by the Dark Lord, to go to Remus Lupin's house, and take him for the other side, once and for all. If he couldn't come, even by force, then he was to be killed. That was the end of the story.

And the story would have ended there, had Remus Lupin been home. The werewolf, instead, blew down the door of the Lupin manor to find Tonks, and young Daniel who was amusing himself by changing his hair colour to the same as his Merlin doll, so that long white locks sprouted out of his tiny head, making him giggle, his fathers wizard hat falling over his eyes.

"Where is he?" Fenir sneered, scanning the room, not noticing the small boy on the floor, covering in snow-white hair.

Tonks had turned a colour much paler than Daniel's hair, and she scooped him up in her arms, and clutched him tight to her chest. She drew out her wand, and pointed it at Fenir's chest. She wasn't an auror for nothing-

Fenir wouldn't have noticed the child, had it not been for the sudden movement. However, now that Daniel was level with him, he could almost taste the flesh, in his gruesome, sneering mouth. This would hurt Remus much more than killing him would.

But Fenir, though he may not have been witty enough to catch Remus when he was at home, was not stupid. If he killed the child then there would be no means of blackmail for the man. He would have to do what he considered the next best thing.

Before Tonks could blink, Fenir had lunged forward, thrown her to the ground, and seized the baby, snapping Tonk's wand with his foot as it fell to the ground. Her head hit the side of a table, and she knew no more.

Daniel gagged on the smell that filled his nostrils. The smell that now haunted his nightmares, and flitted in and out of his life like a permanent bad dream. Fenir breathed in the scent of the child hungrily. Daniel's white hair had gone now. He didn't feel like Merlin anymore. He felt scared, and powerless, and he was much too scared to make a sound, let alone cry. His hair was a dark black, and his eyes a bright red, scared, warning everyone of danger. They beckoned like bright stop signs, _do not come any closer…_

Fenir paid no attention to the colour of Daniels eyes, or the message that they were sending out. He wouldn't have listened to that message had it been shouted at him through a megaphone.

Tonk's alerted by the screaming of her baby, grabbed her wand, and cast it at Fenirs chest, screaming all her petrified anger into one spell, which shot across the room like a disease. Fenir didn't flinch, just stepped away, slowly, from the blood covered child, and licked his lips.

"No you stupid woman. It doesn't work unless you mean it. You are not a killer. Not even for this…"

Tonk's ran for Daniel, and broke down into sobs. Fenir kicked a great hole in the wall.

"Tell Remus that we'll be coming for him. Or the child will be much worse than one of us…" He spat, and strode out of the house, the door swinging on it's hinges, the child crying silently in Tonk's arms, her heaving body protecting his from the horrors that awaited him…

Daniel couldn't remember any of this. Not vividly. He remembered little things. He could smell the breath of the werewolf, wafting, strong. He could still remember the evil glint in the werewolf's yellow eyes. He could still, just, remember his father's devastation, the tear-filled eyes which were usually so full of pride, when he entered the house, and embraced Tonks.

Apart from that, the only reminder of that night, eleven years ago, was the tiny scares on his neck, left by Fenir. And the monthly transformations that he went through.

The war had ended one month afterwards.

No one knew of this condition. No one, and he wasn't soon going to tell them. He was very ashamed of what he was, even though his father told him not to be. He always said, that if you spend you whole life pretending then you begin to pretend to yourself. He was right, of course. Daniel once tried to use the fact that he was a metamorphmagi to transform so that he didn't look like a wolf in his monthly transformations. It didn't work. It was painful too. He ended up in St Mungo's, for a week.

The sun was still setting, and quickly too. The sky had begun to get an orange tinge around the edges of it's bright blue.

There was a loud cheer from the crowd. The stood up as one, their arms in the air, agreeing and disagreeing with whatever was happening in the crowd. Daniel groaned. For a moment he thought that he had done something stupid again.

It was a second before he realised that the jeers and cheers were not aimed at him. Marly Jones had gone into a spectacular dive, plummeting for the ground. Daniel turned the nose of his broom towards the ground as well. He needed to get out of the air. The game was almost over…

Their was an ear-splitting roar, and tears of joyful relief sprung up into Daniel's eyes. It was over. The game was over.

Excited Gryffindors bubbled over, and flooded the pitch in a score of laughs and squeals, the length of the game only making them more thrilled at the win, hoisting Marly up onto their shoulders, and bouncing around.

Jessie and Jade, however, did not join the throng. They ran onto the field, and, aft5er a minute of scanning the crowd, realised that the person they were desperately seeking out to congratulate was not there. He wasn't even in the stadium anymore…

Daniel ran up to the castle, puffing and panting, a stitch in his side, as he ran up the sloping lawn of the school, and through the front door, making his way desperately to the hospital wing, to take the potion. He was safe now. It was ok.

The girls, meanwhile, their elation at winning the first Quidditch game of the season mingled strangely with their disappointment at Daniel's absence, and they allowed themselves to be gobbled up in the hugging, screaming, bouncing crowd.

The after party was massive, as all Quidditch after parties were. Jessie, Jade and the rest of the first years stared with opened mouths as the older students somehow produced masses of butterbeer, food, and sweets, as if from nowhere. They did, however, try their best to act nonplussed, and fit in with all of those more accustomed to the goings on of the Gryffindor common room. The twins, for example, seemed to be prominent amongst the group of students somehow finding the food and drinks, and they bounded up to the girls with broad grins of their mischievous faces.

"You girls seen young Daniel?" yelled Carter, over all the noise. Jessie shook her head, her forehead creasing.

"No! Have you? We're really worried!" she screamed back, her eyes darting, out of habit, towards the portrait hole, which they couldn't help watch, expecting Dan to come bursting through, full of pride, any moment.

"No! Why would we be asking you two if we had?" Arthur roared back, with a hint of a laugh. Jessie and Jade rolled their eyes.

"Well, when you see him, tell him that we want to see him! He's a legend!" they yelled, and disappeared into the crowd.

"Yeah, _if_ we see him." Jessie muttered. Jade, under all the music and talking, was the only one to hear her.

"What do you mean?" she asked, biting her bottom lip nervously.

"I mean, why would Dan give up the party? He was practically the star of the game! And he didn't even stick around after the snitch was caught. He was gone by the time Marly got to ground after her victory lap! I just hope that he's ok. I can't imagine a reason for him to do all that when he was fine, that's all…" she said, trailing off.

"Mmmm. I know." Jade agreed, scared now.

"I guess I'm just being paranoid…" she said again, not wanting to worry her friend over nothing. "There could be lots of reasons, right?"

Jade nodded in agreement, however, as the party raged and the crowd grew more and more boisterous, the full moon shining brightly, flooding the room with an eerie light from outside, neither Jessie or Jade could come up with any reason at all.

**A/N: well, hope that you enjoyed that chapter! Sorry for the slow updates! I'm really trying, and I am still trying to give replies to my reviews! So thanks heaps for reading this far into the story! Please please please tell me what you think of it!**

**Luv Ella xXx**


	11. Lavender Thomas visits a friend

Jessie's eyes opened quickly, and she sat bolt upright in bed, alert. He sun streamed in through the windows, flooding the girl's dormitory with it's dewy, early morning light. It took Jessie a moment to work out why she was so anxious to wake up. Then she remembered the previous night.

The girls hadn't enjoyed the party much. They had, however, stayed until the end of it. After the end, in fact. They remained, sitting on the comfy couch of the Gryffindor common room until well into the early hours of the morning, observing half heartedly as the occupants of the room quickly dispersed, and it was left empty, apart from their tentative figures, perched by the fire, until it was reduced to sad embers.

That was when they decided that it was useless to wait for Daniel, as he didn't seem to have any intention of returning to the common room before morning. They had, begrudgingly, trotted up to their dormitory, where they lay, uneasy, for at least one sleepless hour, pondering their friends whereabouts, and still coming up with nothing to comfort them.

Jessie scanned the room. She jumped, when she reached Jade's bed. It was empty. Quickly, she hoped out of her own four-poster, and pulled a dressing gown around her shoulders. The other girls that they shared the dormitory with were still sound asleep, their heads rested peacefully on their pillows, their curtains left wide open, having been so tired the previous night that they had just flopped down on top of the covers and drifted off to sleep.

The late night before, and the absurdness of the hour combined to create heavy lines around Jessie's eyes, which she rubbed furiously as she journeyed down the stairway, passing a few odd students who enjoyed walking at that early in the morning, or ate breakfast before many others. They weren't rubbing their eyes. They were perky, and waved jovially at Jess as she descended. They obviously hadn't partaken in last night's celebrations.

Jessie didn't have far to go. When she reached the common room, she found Jade sitting on the couch, her eyes fluttering open and closed lazily, staring at the place where the fire had died last night, as though in a subconscious trance, not even turning around as Jessie approached her, though Jess didn't make any effort to muffle her footsteps.

"Jade?" Jessie muttered quietly, kneeling beside her. Jade was obviously asleep. She tried again, louder this time, "Jade?"

Jade came around, with a start, and her eyes snapped wide open, staring into Jessie face, horrified.

"I feel asleep again? Have you seen Daniel, is he alright?"

"No. I haven't. I was worried about you! How long have you been down here for anyway?" Jess asked, rolling her eyes slightly, and sitting down next to her friend on the couch. Jade sat up slightly straighter, and mumbled something.

"What was that?" asked Jessie, leaning in.

"Four." She said again, and blushed.

Four? Jessie was barely asleep at four in the morning! That was two hours ago. She groaned inwardly, thinking o how tired she would be today. It was a Sunday. Luckily, too, because she would have been much too distracted in classes, and Professor Sprout said that they were starting on Peela Pods on Monday…

"Jess?" Jade said, looking at Jessie expectantly.

"Sorry, What?"

"I said, what do you think we should do? Do you think that Dan's all right?" Jade asked earnestly, peering at Jess intently, trying to see what she really thought of the predicament.

Jessie didn't meet Jade's eye.

"I'm sure he's fine. He might have gone up to be last night, and we didn't notice him." She reassured Jade. "Come on. We wont get back to sleep now. Lets go down and get breakfast. We can see if Dan's down there. You never know."

But Daniel wasn't at breakfast. And he wasn't on the grounds when they went walking afterwards. They didn't hear any word of him until the sun was high in the sky, leering down at the girls, where they sat underneath a large beech tree by the lake.

"I wish that I knew where he was!" said Jade in frustration, standing up from where she sat on the ground, breaking the silence that they had fallen into. Jessie opened her mouth to respond, but it wasn't her voice that spoke.

"I know where he is." Said a voice behind them, sneering slightly. Zeke Malfoy emerged from behind the beech tree, and eyed the two girls, scanning them up and down. He was alone, which was unusual for the boy; he was usually accompanied by at least two of his friends.

"What do you mean?" asked Jade, her eyes flashing. Could the Malfoy boy have hurt Daniel? Did he have him somewhere? Was this what he had been doing in the forbidden forest?

"I thought you at least would know Potter. You've known Dan for a while now, haven't you?" he sneered, walking closer to them. Jessie stood up. Zeke looked her up and down.

"What are you talking about Malfoy?" she asked coldly, stepping forward. Zeke didn't look angry, or scared by the girl. She didn't have her wand out. While many might have started to fear what Jessie Granger could do with a wand in her hand, she was quite defenceless. Her wand was still securely in her pocket.

"I don't even know what you mean Malfoy! Tell us where he is!" said Jade, firing up. Zeke smirked.

"You should see what the filthy half blood did to himself! In a right state he is…" Zeke taunted. Jade drew her wand, and pointed it at the boy, but Jessie was puzzled? Half blood? Weren't Daniel's parents a witch and wizard?

"Tell us where he is!" Jade said, breathing heavily through gritted teeth. Zeke opened his mouth to retaliate, his wand suddenly in his hand, pointed straight at Jade. Jessie's ears were red with fury…

"Daniel!" she yelled, and ran past Malfoy and across the grass, seeing her friend in the distance, on the grounds. Daniel's eyes widened, when he saw Jessie running for him, and he groaned at his foolishness. He had thought that they would be in the dormitory, tired from the party the night before, not on the grounds. He didn't want to see his friends at the moment. They would only ask questions. How could his father have kept this a secret? He was in agony, and it was only the morning after his first transformation at Hogwarts…

Jade followed Jessie, forgetting about Malfoy, running furiously across the grass, her feet pounding the ground in angst, tearing up the dirt with every step, her wand clenched tightly in her hand, flying wildly alongside her.

They slowed down when they reached him.

Daniel didn't look like he had at the Quidditch game, the night before. There was a large scratch down his cheek, and he supported darker circles under his bloodshot eyes than either of the girls. His hair was messy, and matted together, like he had forgotten to brush it. Jess gave him a quick hug, but Jade stopped, and looked him up and down.

"What did you do?" she asked, tears of relief and fear springing up- into her eyes at once, and mingling together to send a cold trickle of water sliding over her cheek.

Daniel looked uncomfortable. Jessie's forehead was creased in worry.

"I think we need to talk. There's something that I have to tell you…"

In the distance, Malfoy watched, no longer smirking at the situation. He was watching the way that Jessie had hugged Daniel. It was nothing more than a quick, friendly squeeze, but it made him ache inside, as he though of what he had to do…

OOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Lavender Thomas looked up from the letter that she was holding. She wasn't stupid. Her brain clicked through the information that she had just read, in her daughter's own hand, and realised that there was so much more to it, more than Suzie Thomas could ever imagine.

"Dean?" she asked, her husband, walking over to where he stood in front of their muggle TV set, watching football, and cheering loudly at the screen when appropriate. "Dean, have you heard anything from Hermione Granger recently?" she asked, trying to remain calm and apparently nonplussed, leaning casually against the doorframe. Dean didn't take his eyes off the TV. He seemed mesmerised. The answer to the question, however, was the one that Lavender had been expecting.

"No. Not for ages…" he replied, "Actually, I think that Harry's wedding day was probably the last time that I talked to her."

Lavender nodded. That was what she thought. That was the last time she had talked to her old roommate as well. She hadn't heard a thing of the brilliantly talented witch since then. No female minister for magic, no publicly acclaimed healer, and no famous auror had popped up in the last few years supporting the same name.

"Why?" Dean asked, tearing his eyes away from the football to face Lavender. She wasn't listening.

"Huh?"

"Why did you want to know about Hermione?" he asked, Lavender shrugged, and lied quickly.

"Oh, I don't know, just wondering I guess. You know, old friends…"

Lavender walked slowly back into the kitchen and stared at the second page of her daughter's letter, which had arrived from Hogwarts that day. Suzie's letters were always long, and looked as though they had been scrawled quickly, the words bouncing across the page, excitedly. A few words bounced across a little too jovially, and Lavender stared at them, her insides squirming with a sudden understanding.

…That muggleborn girl that we met in Diagon Alley is really nice. Her name is Jessie Granger…

A muggleborn. A muggleborn Granger, with flaming red hair, bouncing around Hogwarts. It all made sense to Lavender. A strange, horrible sense, that she doubted no one, even Ron, would understand. She remembered the woman's accent in when they met in Diagon Alley. Australia. That's where they were. And that's where she had to go. She had to make things right.

"Going out for a moment Dean! Be back soon!" she called, and didn't even wait for his reply. With a turn, and a crack, she had disappeared into thin air.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"You should have said something." Jessie said, smiling at Daniel, who still wouldn't look them in the eye.

"I didn't want you to think any less of me." He replied, pretending to be fascinated by the creases in his knuckles.

"Why would we do that?" Jade asked, "It's not your fault, is it? And anyway, we could do something to help." Jade said, grabbing onto his arm and making him look up. The eyes that he rested upon hers were still sad, but she could see that he was grateful for the two friends sitting either side of him.

"No, there's nothing, trust me. Anyway, it's enough that…" he trailed off. Daniel was not great at brilliant heartfelt speeches. He wasn't even great at bad heart felt speeches. He looked awkwardly at Jade, and then at Jess.

"No worries." Said Jessie and Daniel looked relieved, and closed his mouth, not having to say a thing. Jade realised, with a start, that she still hadn't let go off his forearm, and dropped it with a start, clasping her hands together tightly in her lap, her ears going red.

Daniel's eyes were now a hopeful kind of yellow, and his hair a deep navy blue.

"Can you hide the scar with your metamorphing?" Jessie asked, considering him thoughtfully. Daniel shook his head.

"The two of them don't mix. I've tried lots of things. I think I'm the only wizard ever to have both conditions, and they don't seem to agree on any things." He said, the hint of a laugh in his voice.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Lavender knocked nervously on the door, which she hoped belonged to Hermione Granger. She had tried very hard to find her, and now that she was here she was confused as to why. To set the score straight, of course, but shouldn't that be Ron's job? Couldn't he have explained it to Hermione, the fact that it was her who had forced him to kiss her? She felt awful about it now, but she thought that she had a broken heart, and as far as she knew, Ron was available.

Obviously, after Hermione had run from the room crying, it became clear that he was not available. At least, he hadn't been. After the running down the street, Ron was free to date who he wanted. But he hadn't.

Hermione had disappeared off the face of the earth, and Lavender had become engaged to Dean Thomas, but Lavender knew that Ron hadn't dated for years. He had tried. Right back at the beginning, he had tried. He had tried to date Hermione first, of course, but that was out of the picture, and then it was onto whatever girl he could find, after about a year or so. Dean had kept her informed, for he spent some time with Ron, Semus and Harry, keeping in touch after school, sometimes meeting at the Leaky cauldron for a drink on a Friday night.

But deep down, as she rapped her knuckles on the door of Hermione's large house in the suburbs, Lavender knew that this was her fault, and that she had to fix it. Leaping on top of Ron Weasley in a hotel room twelve years ago was not her finest hour, but she had obviously caused a lot of trouble, and it was up to her to set it straight, no matter how belated the apology. Ron didn't know that he had a daughter, and Hermione didn't know that she had a man out there, who still loved her. It was like something out of a movie. Lavender liked that idea. The idea that she did not like was the part that she played in that movie. She had always pictured herself as the beautiful, supermodel star, who managed to look tragically beautiful, even when she had tears pouring down her high cheek boned face.

Incidentally, the actually heroine opened the door, and Hermione's eyes widened at the image standing before her. Lavender Thomas, standing on her doorstep. It was like one of those dreams that she had, years and years ago, or like the self-help images her councillor had helped her to conjure in her brain. This image, of Lavender Thomas standing on her doorstep was often followed immediately by the image of Lavender brown lying in the gutter with a broken nose, but Hermione knew that this was not one of those images. She gave an awkward, forced smile, despite the size of her eyes, and opened the door to let Lavender in, stuttering.

Lavender knew that this was the right house, and that the woman was Hermione, even though neither the house, nor the woman were familiar to look at. Hermione might have changed a lot, but her eyes had remained the same, and Lavender noticed them, prominent among her transformed features, once you knew what to look for.

"C-c-come in." Hermione stuttered, and stood to the side, allowing Lavender through. Muggleborn indeed. The appliances and power points, the lights in the overhead fittings all bore the traits of a very muggle life.

Hermione led her into the living room, and gestured silently for Lavender to sit on the couch. Lavender obliged, politely perching herself on the edge of the chair, and sitting straight backed, a slightly nervous smile on her face. Hermione sat opposite her, and then jumped straight back up again, as though a pin was positioned on her chair strategically,.

"Would you like a drink?" asked Hermione, her voice odd and squeaky, coming out in random bursts of pitch and volume. Lavender nodded, a small and nervous nod. It took Hermione a moment before she could push out another sentence. She wondered in her mind, vaguely, whether she could make it look like an accident, spilling hot coffee down the front of the woman sitting opposite her. Or perhaps if she snuck up behind her then she could hit her over the head with the glass of ginger beer…

"A tea would be great, thankyou." Said Lavender, sickly sweet, her voice cutting into Hermione's thoughts. She nodded, and walked back into the kitchen, her head down.

Though she hadn't seen Lavender Thomas for years, Hermione felt suddenly very self-conscious. She caught sight of herself in the shiny surface of the microwave. Her hair was wild, it needed a cut, and her eyes sported bags that came from worrying about Jessie all night. Her nose looked pasty. Obsessively, she pulled down her top, trying desperately to make it seem like she still had something going on and she wasn't just some dowdy single mum from the suburbs. She ran her fingers through her hair, and ripped her hand away from her teeth when she went to impulsively nibble at her nails.

Truth be told, Hermione was looking rather great. She couldn't admit it to herself, but she was looking very pretty. The reflections in kitchen appliances are often misleading, and shouldn't be trusted. She sighed, and tore her eyes away from her irritated reflection.

"Hermione?" said a voice behind her. She didn't turn around. Lavender was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, holding onto the doorframe as though for support. She couldn't hold it in any longer. She hated the feigned politeness that both of them were adopting, when they had wanted for so many years to meet again…

"He didn't do anything you know." She said. Hermione still didn't turn around. A single tear escaped from beneath her closed eyelid, and her hand shook, gripping the edge of the kitchen bench.

"You have to believe me. I kissed him, you walked in, and that was the end of it. It's true."

"He didn't make you come here?" Hermione asked, her voice no longer high and squeaky, more hollow with loss.

"No. He doesn't know that I came. I couldn't tell him. You have to." Lavender said. Hermione's tears where sticking to her face, and clinging desperately to her eyelashes. They came slowly, one by one, following each other steadily down her cheek. Lavender came a little closer.

"You have to tell him. He deserves to know Hermione." She said. Hermione's voice caught in her throat. Surprisingly, she wasn't mad at the woman standing behind her. She no longer wanted to hurt her. It wasn't Lavender's fault that she didn't listen, as much as she thought she was doing the right thing.

"She deserves to know." Lavender finished, quieter this time. Hermione didn't care for the volume. It didn't matter. The words that she whispered sliced into her dangerously, and caused tears and years of unshed emotion to come flooding out of her. Lavender approached cautiously. The kettle of boiling water was standing dangerously close, however, ignoring all of her fears, Lavender rested a shaky hand on Hermione's shoulder. When she didn't flinch, Lavender wrapped her old friend into a warm hug, and stroked her shiny blonde hair soothingly.

OOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**A/N: Well! My fingers are tired now, wrote that all at once!** **It was fun though! It's about a third longer, so I hope that u like it! If it's still to short then pls let me know! Tell me what u think of this chapter too! I would seriously love to hear from you!**

**And thanks for the one hundred reviews! That is the most reviews that I have ever gotten on a story in my life! Actually, it's more than double the amount of reviews I have ever gotten on another story! Sad, I know. U guys are a little more vocal that L/J fans, I think! I am so extremely grateful to u all! I love reading them, and writing back! Thanks! Please review this chapter too!**

**Luv Ella xXx**


	12. The Party pt 1

A/N: I am a little confused as to whether anyone will like this chapter or not. In this story, I am personally shipping one way, but I think that a lot of u liker the other pairing better! So I am sorry to all the people leaning the other way, and thinking that I am leaning the other way, but hey! It's only a story! (And I hope the way that I do it is cute enough…lol)

**Luv u all, Ella xXx**

_**Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to my good friend Kaidee, who taught me what the word 'chipper' means. Be Chipper Kaids! xXx**_

_Zeke,_

_I know that you might be having second thoughts. Don't be scared. You wont be found out. If I discover that you wont go through with it then I might have to come down there and do the job myself. Please understand. I will be honoured for this. You will be honoured for this. All of His followers will consider us legends. Maybe even their new leader. Don't fail me Zeke. I am counting on you. You wont have to do it, remember, just get it all set up, and we will be there for the girl in the morning. Keep working. _

_Sincerely, your father._

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Across the Great Hall, Daniel, Jade and Jessie sat at the Gryffindor table, eating breakfast. The sky that peered in at them from the ceiling was pearly with the dreary autumn weather, and they devoured the warm bacon and eggs that they were eating, savouring the warmth before they had to venture out onto the grounds for Herbology, the harsh winds were getting colder each day.

A school owl fluttered down, and landed right in front of Daniel, his wide eyes peering up at the boy expectantly, holding out his leg to allow Daniel to untie the scroll, sealed with a tiny velvet ribbon. Two more owls descended after it, and landed in front of the girls. They stared at each other, curious, as the owls flapped their wings, and spared back out through the high windows. Daniel groaned, and began to open his scroll, slowly.

"Slughorn. They're invitations to one of his parties. I don't want to go…" he groaned. Jade opened hers before the other two, and smiled slightly, as she read it out.

"You are invited to attend a party hosted by Horace Slughorn. You may bring one guest. Wear your dress robes. Hope to see you there." She read, laughing. Jessie smiled.

She looked down at her invitation, and the date that was set for next week. Then she looked hopefully up at the others, who were laughing at the prospect of attending.

"Oh come on! It would be all three of us! And we get to dress all fancy, and bring dates! It would be fun! Come on…" she whined, and gave them a pleading look. Jade looked scandalised.

"Come on. I know that you like the idea of dressing up." Jessie said, raising her eyebrows at Jade. Jade deflated.

"Yes, I know, but it seems so stupid. And you don't want to go, do you Daniel?" she said, turning to Lupin. Daniel went slightly pink.

"Er, actually, I do have someone that I want to ask…I wouldn't mind…I don't know. I need to go. Got to get to class." He muttered, and walked out of the Great Hall, bag slung over his back lazily. Jessie eyed him suspiciously, but Jade looked as though she had been slapped in the face.

"Oh come on, you weren't that against the idea!" said Jessie, spying the less than happy expression on Jade's face. Jade didn't seem to hear her. She was still staring at the place where Daniel had disappeared out the door. Jessie sighed, and stood up.

"I guess we had better be going too then." She said, and Jade stood, in a sort of daze, staring in the same place, not making a sound. Then she shook her head, like a dog getting rod of water, and smiled a little too enthusiastically at Jessie.

"Yes! Charms!" she said to Jess, trying to cover up. Jessie stared, her eyebrows raised.

"Er, no Jade, herbology." She said, slowly. Jessie shook her head.

"Yes, yes that was what I meant." She said, and then practically marched out of the hall.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Jade was in a bad mood all morning. She pounded her roots to a pulp in Herbology, when they were preparing the species for use in potions, and she passed the watering can across to Jessie a little too enthusiastically. Suzie Thomas raised her eyebrow at Jess, who shrugged, and tried to catch Jade's eye, with no result. Jade was utterly irritated, and she wasn't about to provide any answers.

When they reached Transfiguration, Jade didn't notice that the pencil she was meant to be transforming into a spoon was on fire, and Jessie had to extinguish it with a little spout of water she produced from her wand.

Then there was lunch. Daniel was ominously absent from their usual spot at the end of the Gryffindor table, and Jess was quick to notice this. Jade, however, apart from becoming even more vague and tetchy, showed no sign that she noticed that the other third of their trio was missing. She dug into her salad sandwich without even blinking.

After lunch, they walked the halls to charms class, where an eager band of Ravenclaw girls were already waiting outside the class, giggling loudly, and squealing occasionally. Jess noticed, as they drew closer, that Suzie was near the centre of them, looking especially chipper, and the squealing girls seemed to be focused on her blushing form.

"Jessie! Jade!" she squealed, and ran up to them when they arrived. Jessie' looked taken aback, as Suzie Thomas came bounding up to them, bouncing on the balls of her heels excitedly, and beaming at them.

"You two are going to Slughorn's party, aren't you?" she asked, and giggled. Jessie nodded, slowly, not understanding where this conversation was going.

"Now so am I!" Suzie informed them, looking nervously ecstatic. Jade seemed interested now. She seemed to have sensed what was coming. To Jessie, however, the announcement came as a complete shock. It might not have been helped by the fact that it was squealed out by one of the surrounding first years…

"Daniel Lupin asked her!"

"The metamorphmagi!

"He's so adorable!"

"He asked her himself!"

"And he's a second year!"

Jessie grinned, and Suzie looked sheepish, nodding, embarrassedly, at the information.

"Good on you!" she said, hitting Suzie playfully in the arm. Jade's eyes were narrowed slightly, and she looked like she wanted to punch Suzie a little harder, and for different reasons, however, Professor McGonagal turned up moment's later, and ushered them all into the classroom.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Hermione stared down at the slip of paper Lavender had left in her hands. She didn't know what to do. This decision could change her life. To be fair, she reasoned that she had made fairly bad life changing decisions up to this point, so she was at a loss as to what to do now.

The party was in one week's time. She didn't have to reply yet. Lavender was very clear about that.

"_I know that you might not want to do it then, but it's an opportunity. Come like that if you like. Then, if you want to reveal yourself, you can. If not, then you stay unknown, no one is any wiser…" Lavender had pressed the invitation into her hand, and given her a quick squeeze. Hermione nodded, her eyes wet, Lavenders pretty, gracefully aging face swimming in front of her. She tried to give her a small smile, and reassure Lavender that she would think about it, but when she opened her mouth nothing but a squeak came out. A strangled noise, which seemed to be artificial, and detached from her body._

Lavender didn't care though. She seemed to understand. Raising a daughter had changed her, and the stability that came from having Dean at her side had made her grow into a very dependable witch. She was far from the giggling young lady Hermione had hated all those years ago. Apart from anything else, she had grown into a friend.

_Lavender gave Hermione a small pat on the back, and left her the invite._

"_That's fine. Just think about it. Hope to see you there." She said, and she turned slowly, and left the kitchen, walking right out of Hermione's house and appearating once she reached the front doorstep. _

And now Hermione had to decide weather or not to attend Lavender Brown's birthday party. It sounded like a childish dilemma, and if she were to voice that thought to anyone out loud, then it would seem a ludicrous glitch to ponder on, but when she added in the fact that all her old friends, including the father of her child, who hadn't yet been informed of this minor detail were all going to be attending, and she looked virtually unrecognisable, then the decision was no longer an easy one. Finding the perfect dress robes seemed to be but a miniature hitch.

The luminous pink paper glowed in Hermione's clenched fist. The paper was speckled in creases and tears. This time next week she could be spilling the whole situation to Ron. Then again, she could just be sitting here, on her couch, regretting it for another eleven years…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Jade was still in an irritable mood when they reached the Gryffindor table for dinner that night. Daniel set himself down in their normal seat, across from the girls, and Jade didn't even look up. She kept on eating away at her roast beef.

"Hey Daniel! Heard about Suzie! Good on you, she's really nice!" she said, grinning at Dan. Daniel went red, the colour rising in his cheeks, and his eyes turning a splendid blue, the way that they did when he was happy.

"Thanks. I was really nervous to tell you the truth…"

Jessie raised her eyebrows. She wouldn't have thought Daniel to be one to become flustered over a girl. Nor, it seemed, did Jade. She snorted into her Yorkshire pudding, causing both of her friends to look at her.

"What?" she asked, when she looked up, finally. "I just don't think that Suzie's that excited about going with you Dan. I think she's just glad that she'll get to go to the party. She wouldn't otherwise, she wasn't invited."

Daniel looked crestfallen, and Jessie scandalised.

"Jade! She was really looking forward to it! I heard her telling that other Ravenclaw, Julie, that she's liked Dan for ages!"

"Yeah, well, what should that matter?" snapped Jade, standing up. "I'm not hungry anyway, I think I'll go to bed." She stormed out of the Great Hall.

Jessie stared after her friend, opened mouthed. Daniel was just staring down at his plate, looking distraught.

"Do you think it's true, what she said?" he asked, looking up at Jess to reveal now deep navy blue eyes, and dark hair. "Do you think that she only wants to get into the party?"

Jessie shook her head. "No, I'm sure not Dan. Don't worry; I _did_ hear her saying that she's liked you. Jades just in a testy mood, that's all. She's been like it all day. I wouldn't take it to heart. She must be tired, that's all." She reassured him, biting her lip nervously. Daniel didn't look all that convinced, but Jess noticed that his eyes faded back to an aqua blue colour, and he gave a small, uneasy smile.

"Trust me Daniel. She's being stupid." Jessie said, firmly. Daniel stole a glance over at the Ravenclaw table, and found two eyes already on him. Suzie gave a small wave. He waved back. When he turned back around, he beamed at Jess.

"Ok, thanks Jess." He said, and his eyes sparkled.

Jessie smiled back, but couldn't help dwelling on Jade. She was acting very weird.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A week later, and Hermione still didn't know what to do. First she had told her that she couldn't do it. Then, when Lavender had come again the previous day, all a dither over the catering and the firewhisky orders, Hermione had told her that she would come, no matter what. Lavender had looked at her, a little too knowingly, and said that even if she changes her mind a hundred times, she wouldn't stress whether she turned up or not.

Hermione half wished that she hadn't been given such an option. Now she didn't have to go, because of Lavender, she had to choose, because of Lavender. She had even half gotten dressed, into a floaty gown, which clenched around the waist and flared out at the bottom, in a dazzling pink colour, falling down just past her knees. To try and comfort herself she twirled around in circles for a moment, watching as the hem of her skirt flared out around her gracefully, creating ripples. It reminded her of when she was a little girl, dressed up in her best party dress.

To try and accentuate the fact that she was a witch, Hermione attached a small sparkly brooch of a black cat, and secured it to her neckline, smiling. So long as she wasn't required to do magic, she was fine.

But her hair hung limp around her shoulders, and though it was still blonde and unrecognisable, Hermione stared in the mirror and suddenly longed to rip it all out, of hack it off with scissors, so that she didn't look so boring and dowdy. So much like a muggle. She wanted to be the witch that she was. She wanted her old locks back, but that wasn't going to happen, especially if she was going to attend the party tonight. _If _she was going to attend the party tonight…

Hermione stared down at the week old, worn away words that adorned the invitation, and squinted through the tear stained splotches that covered every inch of it, feeling her heart fall. She had been hoping that the party might have been the next night, and she had read it wrong. Then she would have time to think. She even half wished that it would be for the previous night, so that the decision would have been made for her.

But no. The party was tonight, and it started in an hour. She had to make a decision now.

Tonging her hair into golden ringlets, Hermione grimaced at her reflection, and sat the invitation down on her dresser, for the last time. She was going to the party.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Jessie stared at her reflection in the mirror, screwing up her nose in distaste.

"What's that look for?" asked Jade, with the hint of a laugh in her voice.

"I don't know, I just don't like the fact that I look the same. It's so boring."

"You look gorgeous Jess!" Jade said, brushing on a light coat of blush in the mirror, her hair falling in soft curls around her shoulders, the soft freckles scattered on her nose making her look cute, and her green eyes shining against the dress that she had chosen, a jade green, with a layer of white tulle under the skirt.

"Easy for you to say! You don't even have to try and your hair stays perfect! I just have uncontrollable curls!" Jessie moaned, and tugged at her locks.

Jade looked up, placing one eye on her friend.

"Ok, will you promise you wont tell that I know this? My cousin taught it to me. She goes to Beauxbatons, and can be a right pain, but she can be useful sometimes. This is one of those times. Alright, what hair do you want?" she asked. Jessie raised her eyebrow at her friend, and let out a snort.

"Pardon me?"

"What hair do you want? Curls, waves, straight, what?" she said impatiently, her hand resting on her hip, supporting her wand. Jessie saw the wand, and jumped.

"Oh no no no no Jade. I am not letting you point that thing at me! Don't you remember the charms class when you set your cushion on fire? No Jade, I don't fancy being a cushion; I'll take the hair over being burnt to a crisp any day."

Jade rolled her eyes, "Carbonironia!" she shouted, pointing her wand at Jessie's head, and before Jess could duck out of the way, a mist of steam had clouded around her head and disappeared with a crack, leaving a head of straight hair in it's place, smoothing over either side of Jessie's head gracefully.

"Oh my goodness! My head is still there! Thanks Jade!" she gushed sympathetically, and Jade laughed, and smirked.

"Thanks for having faith in me!" she laughed sarcastically.

Jessie stroked her pin straight hair, which was flowing over her shoulders and almost down to her waist, like a red waterfall. She was wearing a white dress, with a black sash and black rims around the sleeves. She tied a black headband around her head, pulling the loose strands away from her eyes, and smiled now, at her reflection.

"You certainly seem chirpier than you have been the last few days Jade!" commented Jessie, giving over her shoulder at her friend. Jade shrugged.

"Yeah, I was in a crabby mood, just tired, that's all." She stood up, and joined Jessie, standing in the mirror.

"You excited?" she asked, grinned toothily at her friend's reflection.

Jessie was going to the party with a second year, Greg Collins, and Jade with a fellow first year, who she knew before they had come to Hogwarts, through her parents, and parties they had attended when they were younger. A sweet boy, with exotic eyes and sandy hair, Brian Finnegan was the son of two of Harry and Ginny from years ago, and Jade was looking forward to the date. She had always thought him cute.

"Very." Replied Jade, and she squeezed Jessie's hand quickly, excited, before they gave a flighty squeal, and headed down the stairs, to the party.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Hermione shivered, on the doorstep of the Thomas's large house. It looked regular, however, there was purple smoke wisping out of the chimney, and Hermione could hear noise drifting outside to her. She hugged her arms around herself, trying to shield herself from the cooling air. The night was darkening, and the light still clinging to the sky after sunset was almost gone.

There were footsteps behind the door. Hermione thought for just a moment about turning and running down the street before anyone could answer, but the impulse was forced to disappear in an instant, because the door flew open, and a familiar face, answered it.

Dean stared for a moment. Hermione couldn't help but stare a little as well. She guessed that she would be doing a lot of that tonight. Dean Thomas' hairline had crept slightly backwards, and his eyes crinkled around the edges, however, he still had the same excited face, and the same features scattered on his familiar round face.

"Hi." Hermione said quietly after a moment.

Dean squinted. Then the realisation stole over him, and his face broke into a smile.

"You came! Lavender told me that you might be coming! Actually, she told me that you would be coming, but I didn't know what made her so sure. To tell you the truth, I wasn't expecting it! Now, your name, if you would like, is going to be Carrie Brown. We decided you could be a cousin of hers, none of our families are here, only friends, so it'll be safe. What do you think?" He asked, and looked at her eagerly. He seemed to be searching her face, for signs of her former self, and at the same time he looked triumphant at the fact he was telling Hermione Granger what was the intelligent way to do something. He never thought that he would see the day. She was relying on him!

"Thanks heaps Dean." Hermione said, giving him a smile, and he caught sight of her eyes.

"Oh! There she is!" he said, smiling, and he led her into the house, and down the small hallway, before they turned off into the ballroom, which was already scattered with people. Hermione's stomach did a back flip, and it landed somewhere up around her throat. Ron was standing in the corner, talking to Harry, Neville Longbottom, and a woman who had her hand linked in with Neville's. The woman, who was fairly short, turned slightly, so that Hermione caught her profile. The dazed eyes and pale skin couldn't be mistaken. Luna Lovegood was standing in the small group, laughing loudly at something Ron had said. And there was one other person. A woman that Hermione had never seen before. She didn't have time to study her further, however, because Dean took her by the hand, and led her over to Lavender saying loudly, "Hey honey! Watch out, your cousins a looker, better keep an eye on me later on eh?" he said at quite a large volume, winking at Hermione, who marvelled at the ingenious casualness Dean used when introducing her. Perhaps he and Lavender had rehearsed this part of the evening already, because Lavender excused herself from the people she was chatting with, and bounded up to Hermione, wrapping her arms around her cousins neck, and squealing.

"Carrie!" she let out, shrilly, "So glad you made it!"

Harry turned to look at the person who was causing all the commotion by the door. Harry took a mouthful of butterbeer, but when Lavender pulled away, and the blonde head of the woman she was hugging was revealed, he spraying it all out.

"Harry! That is gross! What did you- what?" Ginny said, whipping herself dry. She followed Harry's gaze, as did the others, and saw Hermione, standing at the door.

Ginny's eyes grew wider than they had ever been, and she let out a yelp.

"But she would have to know that-"

"Exactly." Muttered Harry.

"What, who is it?" asked Ron, his brow creasing in confusion, as he slipped his arm around the waist of the woman next to him. She smiled, and slipped her hand over his. Her name was Katie, and she had silky brown hair that fell to below her waist, and turquoise eyes, which seemed to dance in the sparkling light of the room.

"I don't know, but there seems to be a big fuss over her!" covered Ginny, quickly, though her face was not reassured, and her eyes never left Hermione, darting across to the edge of her vision, observing as she shook hands with people and was introduced to Semus Finnegan and Pavarti Patil, who were standing with Lavender at the time.

"Yes, Ginny, do you fancy introducing ourselves?" Harry aid quickly, and before anyone else in the group could make a move to follow, Harry and Ginny had left the little group, and headed across the room, in the direction of Hermione.

"Ginny, did you have any idea that she might be coming?"

"She hates Lavender! I didn't even know that they were in touch!" Ginny muttered back. They were trying not to move their mouths too much as they skirted across the floor.

"I know. But she had to know that Ron would be here…"

"Harry! What about Katie? What are we going to do? Hermione will be shattered, no matter what she says."

"Alright, lets find out what's going on-Her-i!" he said, quickly, as they reached them, quickly transforming his slip of the tongue into a greeting. Hermione smiled gingerly at them, and Lavender beamed behind her back. Dean snorted humorously at the near miss.

"Hello. I'm Harry, and this is my wife Ginny. Nice to meet you." He said, sticking out a hand to shake hers. Ginny followed suit.

"Carrie Brown. I'm Lavender's cousin. I'm just here to be acquainted with all her friends! Maybe tell them something's they never knew about Lavie!" she said, forced, smiling at Harry and Ginny. Harry's eyes grew wide. Did she mean what he thought she meant? He saw her eyes dart over to Ron in the corner.

"Well then! Allow us to introduce you to our friends!" Ginny said, a tough edge in her voice, taking hold of Hermione's arm and steering her forcibly across to where they was standing before.

"Everyone! This is Lavender's cousin Carrie! Carrie, this is Neville, and his wife Luna…" Hermione let a small gasp escape, and everyone stared. She was smiling beaming, in fact, at Luna, who was wearing floaty robes of a deep orange colour. "Um, I love your earrings!" she covered up quickly, gesturing to the small tropical birds that were dangling from her earlobes. Luna grinned, and Hermione tried to stop the insane smile from remaining on her face, though it didn't work very well.

"…Right. And this is my brother, Ron…" Hermione's eyes appeared to be swimming with tears, but she held them in, and nodded, shortly, biting her bottom lip softly.

She didn't know what she wanted anymore. She wanted to hate him, to hold him, to tell him, and to scream at him all at the same time. She wanted to throw her hands around his neck, and have him recognise her. She wanted to kiss him, and never stop again. She wanted to tell him the truth, or go back in time, or announce it to the whole room. She wished that Jessie were here now, so that she could sit down and explain it to the both of them, and she wanted to let him hug his daughter without the complications. But she didn't do any of these things. Hermione, instead, stood opposite the love of her life, and said nothing, but 'nice to meet you.'

Ron stared at her for a moment. He cocked his head to the side, and then his eyes grew wide.

"I recognise you!" he let out suddenly. Ginny gasped, and Harry gulped, Hermione looked as though she was going to burst out in tears.

"Did you come into the shop once?" he asked, hitting her playfully on the arm, "The joke shop? I swear I've seen you there."

Hermione nodded.

"Yes, I was in there at the start of this year, your right!" she said happily, laughing, "You have a good memory!"

Harry and Ginny chuckled nervously, and didn't look at each other; for fear that they would break down screaming at the craziness of the situation. Part of the craziness came from the next person Ginny knew she must introduce. The only one she really needed to introduce for Hermione's benefit.

"And Carrie, this is Katie, she's Ron's partner! Actually, they're moving in together this weekend!" she said, forcing out the words, her heart breaking at the sight of Hermione's crestfallen features, as different as they may be.

Hermione said nothing. She just stared at Ron's smiling face. It was not the smile that she knew. It wasn't the broad grin that he wore when he had done something to be proud of, nor was it the small smirk that he donned when he was right, and she was found wrong. It wasn't the wide beam that had been slapped across his face at the celebrations and weddings they had attended after the fighting was over, the care free attitude of it all peering through the gap of his mouth to shine on the world. It was as far from the indulged smile he had presented when he looked at the old Hermione as any facial expression could ever be.

To a stranger, it may look perfectly casual, normal, and natural, but Hermione knew that face too well. The curve Ron had forged across his face seemed to her to be a twisted form of grimace. A fake, plaster mould of a smile. Maybe she was right. But maybe she just wanted to make herself feel better.

Ginny nudged Hermione's leg with her knee, reminding her to speak. Katie looked slightly hurt by the pause, and Ron appeared plain confused.

"Hi! Congratulations! Nice to meet you!" she said, maybe a little too enthusiastically.

"You too." Said Carrie, smiling, and shaking Hermione's manicured hand.

"So, Carrie, what do you do for a living?" she asked, and turned away from the rest of the group, so that she was just focusing on the woman in front of her, wearing the flattering black dress robes. Ginny eyed her, as though she knew that this show of interest was definitely a dangerous sign, but Hermione waved her off with a gesture of her hand.

Carrie appeared taken aback with the enthusiastic attention, and Ron delighted to gush over his girlfriend, but Hermione didn't notice. She wanted to find out as much as she could about the woman.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**A/N: thanks for reading this far in the story! That was so much longer than the last chapter! I hope that it didn't reduce the quality! Please let me know what you thought of it! It was going to include the whole of both parties, but then I thought too much, so I split it in two! Review or Pm, I'd love to have a chat with u all!**

**Luv Ella xXx**


	13. The Party pt 2

**A/N: Hey! So so so so incredibly sorry that I took so long! It's been written for ages, but I haven't had the internet to post it! Argh! Thanks for coming back! Hope that u all enjoy this chapter! And, in reply, yes, Voldermort is gone, and no, he will not be coming back. There is no dark leader, or whatever you wish to call them, there are only a lot of Death Eaters wandering around with nothing to do…I don't think it will give away much of the plot to say that they are sort of competing to see who they could rally around next…**

* * *

Hermione felt sick. She didn't know why she was putting herself through this torture. Question after question she had asked about Katie, and she had reeled off lye after lye about Carrie Brown, who, according to her, was a curse breaker, who liked to travel, and was currently living in Australia.

"Where abouts?" asked Ron, interested. Hermione weighed up her chances. Chances are he would never come and visit Carrie anyway…

"Outskirts of Brisbane." She gave promptly, not sure where Carrie finished and she started anymore.

"Sounds great." Ron said kindly. Hermione gulped, and asked yet another meaningless question, wanting to get to the reason why Ron was attracted to the woman, and how they had met. Were they thinking of getting married? Did they have any children?

She knew that she was taking it too far. They cant have been seeing each other for too long, Harry and Ginny would have said something if they had been too serious, unless they were scared of hurting her feelings. Hermione scowled herself. Her feelings deserved to be hurt. Ron had a daughter that he didn't know about.

Hermione couldn't take it any longer. She was barely paying any attention to the details on how Katie had become a healer anyway. Hermione felt the tears she had been chocking back come rushing up to the front of her eyes, and she closed them quick, trying to stopper any drop that might escape. It didn't work. Covering her face, she ran for the bathroom, a quick sob escaping her before she disappeared.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Jessie stared around the room. Greg was talking to Slughorn. Turned out that the only reason he had agreed to come in the first place was that he wanted to suck up to the teachers. He wished to join the ministry when he left Hogwarts…

"Having fun?" asked a sly voice from behind her. Jessie jumped, and turned quickly. Zeke Malfoy was standing there, leaning against the wall with an elegant ease about him.

"So, Slughorn invite you, or are you a tag along?" Zeke asked, coming to stand next to her, not meeting her eye, but holding his head aloof, studying the crowd in front of him instead of acknowledging the conversation that he was engaged in.

"Invite. You?" she replied warily, wondering why the Malfoy boy was suddenly talking to her. She thought that she was a mudblood. Surely he wouldn't be permitted to speak with 'mudbloods'.

"I'm just a tag along. My father didn't get on with Slughorn, from what I can gather. I'm here with Samantha Darwin. She's in my house, a bit of a ditz." He said, still not turning her way. Jessie remained confused. Why was he bothering to make conversation?

She caught sight of Jade across the crowd. She was dancing with Brian, but her eyes weren't focused. She was watching something that was happening on the other side of the dance floor. Jessie followed her gaze, right over to where Dan was talking to Suzie Thomas. Right, where Daniel was _laughing_ with Suzie Thomas. Where Daniel was resting his hand on Suzie Thomas' arm as they conversed. Suddenly. Jade's attitude over the past week made a lot more sense, and Jessie marvelled at the fact that she hadn't noticed it before.

Jade tried hard to keep her mind on her date. She really did. She had liked Brian for a while now, and when they were younger she had always wanted to be paired with him for games. Nothing like yucky little Daniel Lupin, who had boy's germs. No, Brian was the quiet, cute one, with the Irish accent.

Then why was it that she couldn't stop staring across the dance floor and…into space?

Daniel knew that something wasn't right. Suzie was great. She was talking, she was laughing, and she didn't even flinch like he expected her to when he touched her arm. But she wasn't all there. He needed to know what was going on.

"Want to dance?" he asked her. The first year grinned, and he took her hand, and led her onto the dance floor.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Hermione ran into the garden and regained herself. She pressed the balls of her palms into her eyes, and groaned. She shouldn't have lost it like that. She shouldn't have given into the desire to learn about Katie either. It wasn't as though Ron wasn't allowed to date anyone else. Far from it, she had left him eleven years ago now, and he didn't even know about his daughter. It was all her fault, and she shouldn't be getting upset about it. And Katie seemed like a perfectly nice woman. She might even, eventually; become a stepdaughter to her child.

Hermione suddenly felt stupid, and furious with herself. She was letting her thoughts run away wildly, and she knew that, but there was something inside of her that still wanted to know more. She felt that this woman was a rival, and she didn't even know why, or have a reason to.

After all, she hadn't come to this party with the hope of getting back with Ron, had she? She had just come to have a good time with her old friends. Maybe she would have talked to him. She never thought that she seriously wanted to ask for him back though. She knew, deep down, that he wouldn't take her. He had more pride than that.

There were soft footsteps behind her. Hermione turned, slowly, and saw Ginny standing there. She looked a little scared of Hermione.

"Hey." Hermione said softly, not turning around fully yet, keeping her head to the ground. Ginny relaxed, and drew closer.

"Hermione, why are you here?" she asked. Hermione shrugged, and tried not to let a sob escape her. It worked. She gathered herself together, put on a smile, and turned around.

"Right. I'm fine now. Lets go back in, shall we?" she said brightly, ignoring the question, and before Ginny could argue with her, Hermione had grabbed her hand and headed back inside.

They approached the group again.

"Oh yes, you were talking about healers see?" Lavender was saying to Ron and Katie, in a loud sort of stage whisper. The couple had there back to Hermione and Ginny, who were fast approaching, but Lavender knew that they were there. "She gets upset, our aunt was a healer, and she was killed…"

"Oh!" said Ron, understanding. "I'm sorry. We'll be more careful…"

"Oh not your fault Ron, not your fault at all- Carrie! You feeling alright sweetie?"

Hermione nodded, and swept a blonde curl out from her eye, smiling sheepishly at them.

"Yes, sorry about that." She said quietly. "Go on Katie. You were saying…"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I need to step out for a moment, and get some fresh air, is that alright Dan?" asked Suzie, quietly in his ear, when they were dancing. Daniel nodded.

"Sure! I'll come with you…"

"No, I'm fine. You should stay here." Suzie said, and left for the door. Daniel knew that something was wrong. Her eyes kept darting over to where Jade and Brian were dancing all night. Did she like Brian?

At the same time, he noticed Jade and Brian break apart, and go their separate ways. Jade went over to Jessie, who, it seemed, needed rescuing from what was sure to be a tiresome conversation with Zeke Malfoy, and Brian disappeared off into the crowd. Lupin knew that something was wrong. Was something going on between Brian and Suzie?

Curiosity, as well as the nosy sense of freedom that came from growing up as a metamorphmagi, Daniel headed after them, out the door, and around the corner.

There was silence in the corridors. Most people were already in bed. Brian was nowhere to be seen. The door to the ladies room swung shut, with a loud bang.

Daniel turned his head, quickly, almost jarring his neck in the process.

Rubbing it gingerly with his hand, he turned, and pondered on the situation…

No one would know…it was a serious pride issue, but the fact remained that no one would ever find out. And he had to know…

Transforming in a small pop, Daniel stood, completely transformed. He reached out a manicured hand, and touched the doorknob to the girl's bathroom. Taking a deep breath, he tuned it.

That was when he heard it. A small sob, coming from behind him. Daniel closed his eyes. For a moment he seriously considered continuing through the door. Then there was another one.

Reluctantly, Daniel turned, and the sight that he found shocked him to the core.

Jade Potter sat, on the edge of the staircase, sobbing softly into her hands. Her wavy red locks were hanging in a veil over her features, and She looked utterly woebegone.

"Are you alright?" Daniel asked Jade, quickly forgetting that he didn't look like himself. He couldn't transform back now. How would he explain to Jade why he was disguised as a girl? He slid down onto the stair next to her, and smiled, small and nervously.

Jade gave him a swift, searching glance, and Daniel coughed, clearing his throat and making his voice appear higher. He had no pride after this, no pride at all.

"Are you ok?" he asked again, and sat down next to her on the stone steps. Jade nodded, sniffling loudly. Daniel longed to put his arm around her shoulder in a friendly fashion and tell her that everything would be all right. But that was not the behaviour expected of a stranger at a party, and so he restrained himself, thinking all the while what a horrible friend he was to sit there and watch her cry. Stupid pride.

"Are you sure? Was it someone inside? Did they hurt you?" he asked, his voice hardening at the last thought. He couldn't bear to think of anyone hurting her…

"No, it's fine, I'm being stupid. Stupid, first year love life, that's all. Nothing to worry about, trust me, I'm just being silly." She said, giving Dan a small smile. Dan, for a moment appeared to be clubbed over the head. His mouth dropped open. He and the girls never broached on the topic of girlfriends and boyfriends. They were only in first form, and that was much too young to be falling in love. Though, everyone who knew Jade's family had shared the story of her mother falling in love with her father when she was just ten years old. It was slightly over repeated, but a sweet story none the less. If it was being told for sentimental reasons, then the telling of the story stopped there. If it were being told as a funny story around the dinner table, then the punch line was added; the fact that Harry had not taken any notice of her until they were in their sixth year at Hogwarts.

"W-w-w-ho? Is he in Gryffindor?" Daniel asked, wanting to narrow down the suspects. Jade eyed him suspiciously.

"Yes…why? Who are you anyway? You're not in Gryffindor are you? I've never seen you before!"

"Er, no! I'm a Ravenclaw, but I knew that you were a Gryffindor, that's all." Daniel said, hastily. Jade smiled again, relaxed a little, though her eyes were still horribly red and blotchy.

"Yeah, they're in Gryffindor. It's nothing, really. I don't even know why I'm upset; I know that nothing is ever going to happen it's out of the picture! It's just that it sort of hurt, seeing him there with another girl tonight, you know?"

Daniel was confused. It sounded like she knew this guy well. Who could that be? As far as he knew, the girls didn't have many male friends. He was one of the only ones that they talked too. Maybe it was someone that she could never have because he didn't like her, not because they were friends. That would make far more sense…

"We're just much too good a friends, you know?" Jade said, more to herself than to anyone else.

"Who? What's his name? Sounds like a right prat!" said Daniel still adopting his high-pitched voice. Jade shook her head, quickly.

"No! No, he's really not! He has no idea! I always give him a really bad time, you see? There's no way that he could no I fancied him. I don't think that I would want him to know, either. And anyway, I'm eleven, right? It's not as though we would be together forever. And what about when we broke up? I couldn't do that, what Dan and I have is too important to me…"

Jade didn't seem to realise what she had said, or the effect that it had on the girl sitting opposite her.

Daniel's strangely high voice froze in his mouth. He looked at Jade in a way that he never had before. She was beautiful. It all made sense. But he couldn't do that. He couldn't ruin what they had. She and Jessie were his only friends here.

"Well, I don't know about that. A married couple I know? She was in love with him since she was ten years old…"

He said, his voice catching on the walls of his throat. Jade looked surprised.

"Really? Who?"

"Uh, don't worry. Er, my parents. Yer. Don't give up on the bloke just yet Jade. I might take a while, but you never know, maybe he…"

Daniel trailed off. It would be admitting it to himself, even if it wasn't admitting it to Jade…

"…Maybe he likes you too."

**Now, I would like your help with something. Do you prefer it when we hear about the kids, or the parents? Pls review and let me know! (BuckNC, I know that u prefer the parents, don't worry!) Thanks for that guys! It would really help a lot!**

Luv Ella xXx 


	14. The Map

**A/N: Hey! And no, Ron was never an auror, Harry was an auror, and Ron was a curse breaker and I figured it was a nice touch to have most of the Weasley siblings work at the Weases, so he does that occasionally. He doesn't own the joke shop. And you want Jess and Ron to meet? Well, next two chapters! I hope! It keeps getting longer!**

**Luv Ella xXx**

Ron tossed and turned in his bed. He couldn't understand it. There was something about the woman that made him want to know everything about her, but he knew that that was impossible. Perhaps it was the fact that it was impossible. Maybe it was the fact that he was moving in with Katie the next day, and that he couldn't do things like that anymore.

No. It wasn't as though he were attracted to this woman; it was just that he felt a pull to investigate. He wanted to find out who she really was, and why he had never met her before. He wanted to get to know her, for no obvious reason.

The woman that Ron was thinking about was Carrie Brown.

There was something about her that made her sit at the surface of his brain and congeal with thoughts.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Jessie looked across at Jade's bed. It was empty. The curtains were still open, and the bed was unslept in. Jess sat up, quickly.

The previous night had been the party. She hadn't seen Jade since she had left Slughorn's party early. Jess had, in fact, stayed until the end, chatting friendlily with Zeke Malfoy. Zeke had become quiet at the end of the evening, however, and though Jess had lay awake deep into the night wondering what had been bothering her knew friend, she didn't hear Jade get in.

And now this. The empty bed, with the open curtains, on a Saturday morning.

Jessie got out of bed, and got dressed. The rest of the girls in the dormitory were already at breakfast.

She headed down the stairs and into the common room. She checked her watch.

It was midday. Of course everyone else was out, they were at lunch, not breakfast. Maybe Jade had even gone down already. It could be possible.

Jess saw Daniel in the chair by the fire, his head lolling to one side, pensively.

"Hey Dan." She said, walking up beside him and flopping down in a chair. "Have you seen Jade?"

Daniel jumped out of his stupor, and looked shocked.

"No! Why?" replied quickly. Jessie raised her eyebrows, and Daniel visibly relaxed.

"Um, no reason, she just wasn't in the dormitory, and I don't know when she came in last night…just wondering I guess. You haven't seen her all morning?"

"No, and I've been here since early. I don't think she got up, I thought she must have been asleep still." Daniel said, a crease appearing in his forehead as he looked towards the door to the girl's dormitory.

"I'm sure she's fine." Jessie said, not too certainly. There were plenty of explanations. Jess just couldn't think of them, that was all. She'd only just woken up… At least, that was what she tried to convince herself.

She and Daniel tried to convince themselves that all afternoon; all through lunch, where they ate together in the Great Hall. After lunch, when they chose to sit in the courtyard on the school yards and talk the afternoon away, while watching the front doors for any signs of their friend.

Or 'friends', Jessie was actually keeping an eye out for one other person at the same time, though she kept her motives a secret from Daniel, and with good reason. Zeke Malfoy was not popular with Daniel and Jade, and Jessie preferred to keep their newfound friendship under her hat for a while. At least until they could see how great a person he was.

But Zeke had not been at lunch, though Jessie had intently watched the Slytherin table for any signs of his blonde head. After, when they were in the common room, discussing Quidditch, and watching the door, Jessie saw no indication of Zeke slipping in through the front doors.

His situation, however, was much less suspicious. Zeke could have easily stayed in his common room all morning, and Jessie had no way of knowing. No way at all.

They didn't find any sign of Jade when they gave up on the courtyard; the winds became colder, and the light began to seep out of the sky. They headed back inside the castle, frowns upon their faces, despite the fun time that they had spent together.

Daniel was panicking, inside. He knew how Jade had been feeling last time that he had seen her. The stranger on the stairs had been able to provide little comfort with her idle words. Jade had no way of knowing how much meaning they held. To her, the stranger had no measure of the situation or the boy she had spoken about. The last that Daniel had seen of her she had moseyed on down the corridor, slowing, away from the party, probably to sulk on a more deserted staircase, but Daniel didn't want to follow. He thought that this might be pushing his identity a little too far.

Jessie, not knowing this, was more worried about Zeke, as time wore on. The last that she had seen him she was leaving the party, Slughorn closing the doors, and he had been as white as a ghost, and had shaken dangerously when he hugged her goodnight. She knew that something was wrong with him.

Daniel and Jessie headed up to dinner. The Great hall, though full to the brim with students, was held no face that comforted either of them in the slightest. Daniel and Jessie exchanged frightful glances.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Zeke sat across from the girl, fighting back tears, which he knew was inappropriate and childish. He couldn't help it. All he could see, by the light of the flame he had brought with him, was the girl, bound to the tree opposite him with invisible ropes that he had conjured himself.

Jade was trying not to cry too. Tied so tightly that she couldn't move, her mouth moving silently as she tried to scream out through the silencing charm the Slytherin had cast on her.

It was a strange coincidence that both the first years were thinking about their fathers, as they sat there in the forest, trying not to cry. Neither of their fathers would have sobbed had they been in that situation. That showed how much they knew.

Jade Potter was the daughter of the famous auror, who defeated the Lord Voldermort. Everybody knew that, even the boy sitting opposite her, which might explain a little why he had bound her to the tree ion the first place. The daughter of Harry Potter wouldn't quiver when tied to a tree trunk by a fellow first year. She would think up some brilliant way to rescue herself from the situation, and trap the culprit single headedly. This thought made Jade want to cry even more than the thought of being helpless in the forbidden forest.

Zeke was waiting for his father, Draco. He didn't know what came next. All he knew was that he had to get Harry Potter's daughter and keep her in this part of the forbidden forest until Draco came for her in the morning. He didn't know why, and he didn't know how he was going to endure the thought of doing this to her, but he knew that this was the chance that he had been waiting for to prove himself to his father, and he wasn't going to mess that up.

But it didn't help that Jade was friends with Jessie.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Hermione sat on her back porch, staring out at her garden. Her garden, which was completely devoid of gnomes, contained no animals whatsoever, and had a perfectly manicured lawn. It was so ordinary, and so normal that it made Hermione want to cry.

This was understandable, of course. There were many things these days that made Hermione want to cry. Just yesterday she had cried after plugging in her hair dryer. She spent a very uneventful hour trying to remember, for her sanities sake, the spell that dried hair, just to see if she could. It wouldn't come to her. Hermione, who could remember so many spells, the human sponge, couldn't remember. She could hardly remember Hermione anymore. The real one, who she went to school with; because that was what it felt like. It felt like the frizzy haired girl in her memory was a childhood friend who she had lost contact with forever.

Last night she had left the party still smiling her fake, forced smile, waving at Ron, and Katie of course, as they left. Hugging lavender goodbye, shaking her head at Lavender's attentive look, and ignoring the downcast face that the woman wore afterward.

And so Hermione sipped on her coffee, wishing it was butterbeer, and thinking how quickly she could get on a plane to England, when she knew she would never get herself past customs…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ron, Harry and Ginny were packing all day, hoisting things into boxes and throwing out objects when they thought appropriate. It was a task that Ron was meant to have completed a long time ago, but had never gotten around to, and so now, on the day that he was meant to be moving in with his Katie, there was a task force of three all slaving away at the job.

Ginny was going through papers when she came across a letter. It was from Ron, to Hermione. She opened the box that it was sitting on top of.

Mountains of paper flooded out around her knees, when she knelt in his cupboard. Ginny rolled her eyes, and picked up one, curious.

They were all written to Hermione. Ron's scrawl of a signature adorned the bottom of each sheet of parchment, and some near the bottom were even tied into scrolls.

"Ron!" She called, sticking her head out the door, a few of the letter clutched in her hand. "Ron, Harry…" she said, a little quieter this time. Harry came running into the room.

"What's wrong?" he asked, kneeling down.

"Nothing, where's Ron?"

"He went over to the shop, Fred and George said they had more boxes, and he wanted to pick them up."

"Couldn't they have sent them over here?"

"Sure they could have, but Ron likes to get out of packing…" Harry explained, with a roll of his eyes. He scanned the room, sceptically. It looked as though it had snowed paper over night, things spread out all over the floor. "Looks like he had good reason to want to get out of packing…" Harry added, with a chuckle. His laughter subsided when he saw the expression on Ginny's face.

"What?" Harry asked, leaning forward, "What's wrong?"

Ginny shook her head hopelessly. She waved her hand at the letters sweeping her feet.

"Look at them all. How did it ever end up like this?" she asked, and buried her head in Harry's shoulder.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"You think so too then?" Daniel asked darkly, leaning across to whisper at Jade. Jade jumped. She didn't think that Daniel had been paying any attention to her, and she had taken the chance to stare over at the Slytherin table, to see if Zeke was there. He wasn't his spot at the table remained ominously unattended.

Jade was startled by Daniel's reaction.

"Sorry?"

"Zeke's not there. Do you think that he knew how closely Jess had been watching him?" Daniel asked. "He could have done something to her. All that Forbidden forest business."

Jessie shook her head, "No, it can't be that. He's not that bad, really…"

"Well then why does he go there?" Daniel said sceptically, " It's too much of a coincidence, the both of them missing from dinner, we need to find her soon Jess, I'm getting really worried, we need to go to McGonagal."

"McGonagal? What's she going to do about it?"

"Stop Zeke hurting Jade-"

"Daniel, you're becoming as paranoid about him as Jade is. Seriously he's not that bad!" Jess almost pleaded. She didn't want Zeke to have the teachers on his back for something that he didn't do.

"Jade, we can't take any risks, and it seem sort of likely-"

"Ok, ok, we'll check the dormitory first though, alright? Please, she might be up there by now, and then all of this would have been for nothing."

"Alright, but if she's not…"

Jessie's heart sunk through the floor and back down to the Great Hall the moment that she stuck her head in the dormitory. It was completely empty. Jade was nowhere to be seen, and none of her things had been touched since Jessie had left the dormitory that morning.

She sat down on Jade's bed, and sunk her head in her hands. She didn't want to get Zeke involved. She didn't want him to think that she didn't trust him. She had to go back to the common room. Daniel was waiting for her there.

She shifted in her seat, and something made an odd, crumpling noise.

Jessie froze. The noise was gone.

Ash was sitting on something uncomfortable. Pulling back the blanket on Jade's bed, Jessie gasped, and produced a large piece of tattered parchment.

The marauders map sat in her quivering hands, a triumphant smile on her face.

"Daniel, I have it!" Jessie squealed, descending the stairs two at a time, and brandishing the marauders map in her hand, the other hand sliding it's way down the banister.

Daniel's eyes lit up.

"She was there?" he asked, quickly, trying to look behind Jess. Jess shook her hand, but one look at the map in her hands told Daniel what Jess had meant. The map would show exactly where Jade was.

Jessie unfolded the parchment, and both Jessie and Daniel stared expectantly at each other.

"Go on…" Daniel said finally, nodding at the map, his eyebrows raised. Jessie looked confused.

"What? Are you going to open it?" she asked Daniel. Daniel looked surprised.

"I don't know the password, I thought you would!"

'I cant remember it! It was something about being a marauder…or roaming…or causing trouble maybe…" she muttered, trailing off.

"Well how are we meant to use it if you don't know the password?" Daniel asked, outraged. Jessie stepped back.

"I thought that you would have taken notice!"

"Why would I have? I never thought we'd be using it to save her!" he replied.

"We are not saving her! We're checking that she's alright!'

"She's not here, so obviously she's not alright!"

"There's a lot of possible explanations, I'm sure of it, now, lets calm down, people are staring…"

Jessie was right. People all around the common room were starting to return from their dinner, and may had taken an interest in the gradually rising voices of the two first years in the middle of the common room.

"Ok, then lets both try some. We must be able to remember something, Jade always opens the map, we can do it." Daniel said, calmly, though he was shaking a little, as though a chill was sent through the relatively warm room.

Jessie nodded, and stared down at the map, which she held, unfurled, in her hands.

"Alright. Um, I promise that I am bad?" she attempted.

"Show me your secrets?' tried Lupin.

"Help us find our friend."

"I promise I'm a marauder."

"I'm a big ugly seventh year."

"That wont work."

"Thought I'd try."

"Help us find Jade"

"I, Daniel Lupin command that you show us your map." Even before Daniel had finished talking, letters began to seep across the page and form words. Daniel and Jessie leant in, and read what had become inscribed on the page.

_Did you say Lupin?_

Daniel looked stunned. He stared at the page. That was all that was written there.

"Yes, Daniel Lupin, first year."

More words formed on the page.

_First year? Wow._

Jessie was confused, but words continued to form, and before long there seemed to be a conversation being written through the previously blank page in front of them.

_Lupin? How come Lupin's kid got the map? I thought I called dibs on that._

_Messers Padfoot wishes to express his annoyance that he was not presently when said dibs occurred._

_Padfoot, why are you talking like that?_

_Messers Padfoot wishes to remind Mr Prongs that this is how all four of us agreed to write on the map. He also wants to know why Lupins kid got the map!_

_Messers Wormtail would like to add that this is no insult to Moony's kid, and that its better than the spawn of Snape getting his hands on the thing._

_Since when was this definitely my kid! Lupin might be a common name in the future!_

Daniel and Jessie were shocked, to say the least. Daniel opened his mouth to speak again.

"Er, the maps not mine. It belongs to Jade otter, and she's in trouble, so I have to see this map to help her. Er, please?" He asked the parchment. It didn't seem to notice.

_Potter? James' daughter then? No fair! _

_Shush Padfoot, she's in trouble! Sure, you can see the map… Your Moony's son._

"No, actually, she's James' Granddaughter, but thankyou, she is in trouble, and we need to see this map!" Daniel said, quickly. Then he stared at the name Moony. Suddenly, it all made sense, and he burst into uncontrollable laughter. Jessie appeared to be outraged at the blatant show of hilarity that Daniel was expressing in such a dire situation. Not that she believed that Zeke was doing anything to Jade…

_Granddaughter? All right then._

_Wait! _

Daniel and Jade groaned. The edges of the map had began to creep over the sides of the parchment, and etch their way across the page, but the new message had stopped its progress.

Messers Moony doesn't think that his son should be exposed to such dangers that are shown on this map. I don't want his to get up to what we get up to.

_Oh come on Moony!_

_Messers Moony wishes to comment that his son should be doing something safer, and more productive. Like studying or knitting. Yes son, go and knit._

_Moony! You want him to be boring, or do you want James' granddaughter to die!_

_Messers Moony would like to mention that what Padfoot just said made no sense at all, and wasn't even right, but I see what he meant to say, and agrees with his point of view. Alright, Daniel, be careful…_

The map continued to spread across the page, and one quick look at the part of the map that contained the forbidden forest told them where Jade was. Only problem was, that it wasn't Zeke who was with her.

It was Draco.

**A/N: and a triumphant smile is on MY face, because I wrote this chapter sooo long ago! Cant wait to see if you enjoyed it or not! yew! Hope that u enjoyed this chapter! And thanks for the reviews and feedback that I got at the end of the last chapter! The parents won without a doubt! And Ive tried to even it out a little, but lets just say that there's not long until they merge anyway!**

Luv Ella xXx 


	15. And her ears turned red

**A/N: Well, this is it. What you have all been waiting for. No, not just another update, something even better. Yes the end is near, and I can't wait until u read it! Yew! This chapter! Okies, so this isn't the end, but the moment you have all been waiting for is here, and All I am going to say is; let me know if u like it! Credit must also go out to;xtotallyatpeacex, who inspired me to write this chapter weeks and weeks ago! Thanks so much!**

**Luv Ella xXx**

"Draco?" hissed Daniel, "But that's Zeke's father, isn't it? The one that Harry hates?"

Jessie nodded, and stared at the map. Malfoy was behind this, and it hit her harder than she could have imagined. Suddenly she felt detached from the rest of the world, and Daniel's voice was a long way away.

"Jess? Come on, we have to go and help her!" Jessie snapped out of her daze, and her eyes widened at Daniel.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her voice quivering, scared. Daniel sighed, exasperated.

"Jess! He could be hurting her, right now! I know that he wants to get back at Harry, I just know it! Come on, we have to go to the forest! They're near the edge of the map at the moment, if they move soon then we might not catch them…"

"Alright." Jade replied, pulling her cloak tighter around her shoulder, and heading for the portrait hole, "Lets go."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Where's Zeke gone?" Draco asked the small girl, who was tied up against a tree. Even if he hadn't been looking for her, he would have been able to tell that she was Harry and Ginny Potter's daughter. Her hair and her eyes created an unmistakable image of familiarity, and he wished that he could hurt her outright. But Draco couldn't do that. She would have to remain unharmed if he wanted to get at Harry.

Jade shook her head, which was bowed so that her chin scrapped her neck ruthlessly.

:"He left, went into the forest. I think he was looking for you…" Jade lied. She knew that the truth would make Draco mad, and she would have to pay for it, as well as Zeke. The boy had gone to a lot of trouble to try and get her out of this, and she owed this to him, even if his plan hadn't worked.

"What do you mean he went looking for me?" Draco Malfoy spat, looking down at Jade and screwing up his nose in distaste, and perhaps confusion, "He knew that I would be here, I wasn't a minute late-"

"I know," Jade thought quickly, hoping that the old Death Eater would mistake her hesitation for angst, "It was my fault."

Draco sneered at her, "Your fault?"

"Yes. I was struggling," she lied. Actually, this was probably the most truthful statement she had made to Draco yet, apart from her greeting of 'You are absolute scum'

In actual fact, she had become restless, and started to struggle. But he didn't leave because of that. He undid the silencing charm for this reason, however. They had then held a conversation. Zeke had told her the story…

"Come on! Let me go! This isn't out battle! It's our fathers, and you know it! Don't do this to me just because he's told you to…"

"_No. I have to. We will be honoured beyond-"_

"_Beyond who? By who! Voldermort is gone! Yes Zeke-Gone! Gone, so you shouldn't still flinch at his name! He's not coming back!" Jade was yelling, her lungs still bound tightly to the tree making her voice come out slightly deflated, but Jade was not deferred. Struggling to hold back feisty tears, she argued ceaselessly, and Zeke took each pang with another defiant flash of his eyes._

"_I know that he's not! That's why I have to do this! My father will be the greatest Dark Lord that there ever was! This is just the start of it!"_

"_Oh don't give me that! We both know that that's not going to happen, and it's definitely not going to help by holding me for a ransom-"_

"_Yes it will. My father knows Harry Potter. He will save anyone that he loves. That's his greatest weakness-"_

"_Yes but that wont help me now! What, are you going to battle the great Harry Potter Zeke! You're a first year! It took a lot out of you just to bind me to this tree!"_

"_No, but my father shall be coming soon!" Zeke argued, his voice faltering slightly, at the thought. _

"_Oh! Well I am sorry, of course they will duel and Draco will win, am I right? Sure Zeke, sure."_

_Zeke deflated, and sunk to the ground, next to Jade._

"_I don't know what else to do. He might not be a match for Potter, but he is a match for me! I don't want to see what he'd do to me if I messed this up Jade…"_

_Zeke thought of Jessie. He knew that he couldn't have done this to her, and Jade looked so much like her…He had never really wanted to go along with this plan, but he had had no choice…_

"_Then don't stick around to see. Run, now, and get us both help. Please?" Jade said, finally letting a single tear trickle dangerously down her cheek. Zeke nodded, and set off at a sprint through the forest. Jade sighed. _

"You were struggling?" Draco asked, his thin blonde eyebrows raised into a sceptical expression.

"Yes, I was thrashing about like crazy, I don't think he got the right charm, so he went to see if he could find you coming, obviously he couldn't…" Jade lied quickly.

"Don't lie to me." Draco sneered. "Babocrucia!" he yelled, and a beam of white light shot ruthlessly out of the end of his thin, pale wand, and hit Jade in the chest. Her body slumped against the tree, and her eyes closed. Pocketing his wand, and taking the chance to find Zeke, Malfoy ran off into the bushes.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Jessie, Zeke, McGonagal and Daniel burst into the clearing, McGonagal's wand raising in front of her, and a fiery light blazing in her eyes that had been there since the war had taken a hold of the people she loved the most in the world. There was no scream, no shriek and no yell of surprise. The clearing seemed empty. Until Zeke's eyes fell on the lifeless figure slumped against the tree, the spell having cut the bonds that held her to the tree.

Zeke gasped, and rushed to kneel next to Jade. She was ghostly pale, but shaking slightly. She was still alive, though her breath was light, and she wasn't moving at all.  
Everyone else followed Zeke, and saw their friend lying in the earth at their feet.

"Out of the way." Shrieked McGonagal, and she conjured a stretcher, and hoisted Jade onto it with her wand; Floating in mid air, the stretcher and Jade were levitated back to the castle, the convoy of three students and the headmistress following close behind.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Jade." Ginny let out a hoarse whisper, and dropped to her knees beside Jade's bed. Harry's face was empty of all colour, and he let out a squeaky noise as he peered down at his daughters still form. Ron stood back a little, scared, and stopped when he was level with McGonagal and Jade's friends. He didn't know what to do. His sister was in complete distress, and Harry seemed in shock. He knew that Jade would be aright. She had to be, and he had been in this room many times before when the situation was grim. He would have thought it impossible if Harry's daughter didn't end up in there at least once.

But Ron was scared. And he also felt very out of place. As Jade's uncle, and having not had a daughter himself, he was very close to the girl, yet he was unsure whether he was considered close enough to stand by her bed, with her parents.

They spent the whole night there. Ron felt a guilt-ridden sensation sitting in the pit of his stomach. He watched as Harry paced the room, grinding his fists together in frustration, thinking of Malfoy. He observed as Ginny sobbed by the bedside, as he had seen her do many times for Harry, and watch her daughters face twitch and flutter, keenly observing any signs of life. He watched as the girl, who he supposed must be Jessie, Jade's new friend, sat on a bed opposite, not wanting to get too close to the family, and taking Harry's staring the wrong way, and he looked on while Daniel Lupin's hair turned to a solemn black, and flattened onto his head, his eyes a deep, pondering blue, full of feeling and sadness.

But Ron was thinking on the situation that he had just left, as well. Katie had been expecting him, when he had walked back into his room and found Harry and Hermione sitting amongst a million old letters, not reading any of them, just sitting in the middle of them.

It was nighttime, which was much later than Ron had said he would be gone for. He had never even made it to the joke shop, where he said he was going to fetch more boxes. Instead, he had wandered around the streets of London thinking about what he was about to do. As great as she was, Ron didn't love Katie. He had never really loved Katie, because he had never stopped loving Hermione.

Ron decided, as he roamed the streets aimlessly, that he could either turn away from the past and move in with Katie, or he could resign to the fact that he would never be able to fall in love again.

Just when he thought that he had made up his mind, Ron walked in to the room filled with the letters, where Harry and Ginny were sitting. They were laughing. Laughing loudly and proudly over something, and for a moment Ron stopped in the doorway, silently, fuming, as he thought they were cracking up over the writing on the pieces of parchment that carpeted the floor.

Ron had been wrong, however, for he heard what Harry said next, and realised that they were merely reminiscing…

"And then I tried not to hear, and I kept pounding the roots to a pulp! They just kept on talking, so proud of themselves! Until I smashed the bowl, like the prat that I was! They'd forgotten I was there; the looks on their faces! Then it was all ok for a while, until he went to the party with Lavender Brown!"

"Oh! I remember the time! That was big! The filthy hypocrite, I was so mad!"

"Yeah, because you were with Dean! Hw do you think I felt/"

Ginny and Harry were laughing so hard that tears were trickling down their grinning faces.

Ron had made a noise at the door, and they had both whipped around quickly. It was then that Ron had known. He couldn't forget the past. He didn't think that he even wanted to. Maybe Hermione hadn't moved on. He could still find her. He could do better than the letters, he could find her, and he could win her back. That is, if she hadn't moved on….

Ron hadn't even had a chance to talk ton Katie. The message had come from McGonagal moments afterwards, by patronus, that Jade had been hurt, and the three of them had flooed to Hogwarts immediately.

And there they were, sitting in the hospital wing, Ron thinking about the woman who he loved the most in the world, and devising farfetched schemes to win her back…

At last, when the sun began to peek through the windows, and Madame Pomfry walked in through from her room, to give Jade another dose of medicine, McGonagal spoke.

"I think," she said calmly, "That it is time we went to my office and sorted out what happened last night. Mr and Mrs Potter need to know the details, and I think that these three might be able to help us retell the story. If you would care to step into my office-"

"Excuse me headmistress, but would you mind if I stayed here with Jade? The others can fill you I, I doubt I would be much of a help anyway…" Jessie said, in barely more than a whisper. McGonagal nodded, and Jessie smiled a small, wet smile of appreciation.

Everyone but Ron and Jessie left, and Jessie sat herself down in the seat next to Jade's bed, and rested her head on her knees.

"She'll be alright…" Ron said to Jessie awkwardly, trying to comfort the girl who was staring at her friend's lifeless form hopelessly.

"Your Ron, aren't you? Jade's uncle?" Jessie asked, hollowly, not taking her eyes off Jade. Ron nodded.

"Yeah. You must be Jessie. I've heard lots about you." Ron said, still uncomfortably. He was really in no mood to talk, but felt as though if he could keep the small girl distracted and talking then she might be less distressed.

He didn't know what it was; perhaps because she looked so simular to Jade; maybe because he had heard so many stories about her; maybe it was the fact that she sat before him puffy eyed and pale. It could have even been that she was showing so much emotion towards a girl that Ron had come to care for like a daughter. Whatever the reason, Ron Weasley felt an unbelievably strong paternal pull towards Jessie, and had a sudden urge to reach out and hug her, stop those deep brown eyes from shining with tears.

"All good I hope." Jessie said quietly, giving Ron a small, sad smile. She was glad there was someone to talk to.

"Yeah, all good." Ron replied, with the hint if a reluctant chuckle, sitting down next to Jessie. He pushed a stray hair out of his goddaughter's face. There were beads of sweat on her pearly white forehead.

"So your parent; would I know them? Did they go to Hogwarts?" asked Ron, grappling desperately for a topic that he could ramble on about. The other obvious choice would have been Quidditch, but he had learnt, partly from growing up with Hermione, that teenage girls didn't appreciate the sport nearly as much as he did. His own days at Hogwarts seemed a safe road to walk down. It would help if her parents had been there at the same time as him…

Jessie's ears went red in embarrassment.

"No. My mums a muggle." She said quietly.

"What's wrong?" Hey, don't be embarrassed!" Ron said bracingly, making Jessie look up, "There's nothing wrong with being muggle born. One of my best friends was muggle born, and she was the brightest witch I have ever met. What's you mum's name?" He said, a sad, reminiscent gleam in his eye. He needed another stab at conversation, and he needed to change the topic before he became as weepy and venerable as the girl sitting opposite him. Jessie smiling, thinking of her mother…

"Hermione. Hermione Granger."

It was as though time had frozen. Ron gapped at her, sure that he had gone deaf, that he was imagining things. He was sure that she couldn't have just said what he thought that she had said… it didn't make any sense.

And yet one look into Jessie's politely bewildered, familiar brown eyes told him that he was not mistaken.

Suddenly, Ron felt as though he were falling through darkness, spinning, his head was above his feet, and he was headed for a pit that had no ending.

For years and years Ron had clung to the minute ray of hope that came from the thought of Hermione still loving him. That she might have never moved on. He couldn't even think of her with another man, and didn't ever want to start. He had a blissful image in his mind of her being gracefully lonely; until such time that he found the right words and actions to win her back.

But her she was; the proof that Hermione had moved on (and quickly too). Maybe she had never really loved Ron in the first place. It was staring at him in the form of Jessie, the confused looking witch who sat opposite him. Hermione had moved on, and he, Ron, had not. She had gone and had a child, started a family with another man, and he, Ron had stayed in one spot, wishing for her back.

Ron turned, and ran from the hospital wing, too shocked to say anything more.

**A/N: Now, I want this to be known. I did not do this to 'insult Ron's intelligence.' I think that's a quote from a review, I can remember it, I think. No, I did this because it is part of the story line, and, to justify, he was not expecting to have a daughter. He looked at Jessie and saw Hermione, he didn't look at her thinking, 'hey, lets look for the similarities between this girl and I!' He isn't stupid, and he never will be. I promise. Sorry if it seems like that. I love Ron. Yes, I do!**

**Sorry about the cliffies! Please leave me a review! Thankyou sooo much for reading this much!**

**Luv Ella xXx**


	16. The Burrow

A/N: Argh! Sorry! Now, this DOES have more of the parents. So so so sorry that it took this long to get this to you all! I really hope that you like it! Please drop me a review! And thanks so much to everyone who has already reviewed! I really am so so grateful! Hope that this chapter doesn't disappoint! Luv Ella xXx

Ginny looked up. Jade was stirring. Her eyes were fluttering open, and then after a few moments of floating somewhere between awake and asleep, they snapped wide open, and she tried to sit up abruptly.

Ginny was startled.

"Harry! Harry she's awake!" she hissed, and leaned forward to her daughters bed.

It was three hours since Harry and Ginny had returned to the hospital wing. Jessie, Daniel and Zeke had been sent back off to bed, and, reluctantly, they had left. Jessie was acting vague, and peculiar, but Harry and Ginny were much too distracted for her to talk to, and besides, she didn't really know them in the first place. How was she meant to explain how Jade's uncle had run from the room, pale faced and open-mouthed?

Harry was sitting on the bed opposite, and jumped to his feet when Ginny hissed across the room at him, rushing over to his daughter's bedside. He was distant, yet alert, and he gazed down at her, and clasped Ginny's hand in his own.

Startled though she was at the sight of her parents leaning over her, when it seemed to be only moments ago that she was in the forbidden forest, Jade tried again to sit up, without any progress. Her limbs were tired, and weighted her to the bed heavily, aching in all places.

"Hey." She groaned, hoarsely, grinning all the same. Harry smiled, despite himself. This room reminded him of many occasions, and he was proud, through his worry, of the fact that he could see so much of himself in his daughter. The phrase 'Malfoy got me landed in the hospital wing' was one that he had often found a cause to recite, and now, although the situation was grim, Harry was slightly glad that Jade could say those same words.

Harry, when he had been told of the reason for Jade's condition, had taken out his wand and paced the room, clenching his fist around it until his knuckles went white. Then the fact had set in that Malfoy hadn't gotten away with it.; that Jade was safe, and recovering. That Malfoy's own son had turned against him, in a way that Draco had, many times, failed to do himself. Harry calmed at these thoughts, so that when McGonagal had led them back to the hospital wing, Harry was still formulating gruesome revenge plots in his mind, though he was slightly more relaxed about it. Mind you, if he ever bumped into Draco one day down Diagon Ally…

"What happened to me?" Jade muttered, "Is Zeke alright?"

"Yes sweetie, Zeke's fine." Ginny muttered, stroking her daughter forehead soothingly.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So is James staying with Uncle Ron?" Jade asked, when Harry and Ginny had finished explaining everything to her. She had propped herself up against her cushions, so that she appeared a little more lively. A frown came over Harry's face.

"No, James is staying with Grandma and Grandpa's house…" he said, and Ginny looked equally disturbed. "Where's Ron then?" he asked her. Ginny shrugged.

"He was right here. She said. I supposed that he went off to bed, I didn't really think about him, I was too worried…"

Ginny looked guilty, and trailed off, staying around the room.

The truth was, they hadn't seen Ron all night, not since they left him alone with Jessie.

Harry peeked out the window. The sun was peering at the over the mountains that surrounded the castle, and light had begun to fill the skies, extinguishing the stars. Jessie and Daniel would be back soon. Even Zeke might turn up, though Harry was almost certain that he would be scared of how Jade would react. The search for Malfoy had continued through the night, with a McGonagal getting Slughorn and Hagrid to search the forest and the grounds for him, with no success. Harry didn't think that they would catch him, and he didn't seem to mind much. Zeke had done what Draco had never been able to face up to; he had defied his father and decided what was right for himself.

As if on cue, Jessie and Daniel walked sleepily into the room, watching for Madame Pomfry cautiously, and trying not to make any noise, for fear that they would be sent back to their dormitories. After a few sleepless hours, Daniel had descended the stairs from the boy's dormitory to find Jess already puffy eyed and pale, sitting upright in the common room, no doubt waiting for dawn. The sunlight that started to peek through the window tauntingly was enough of a signal to the both of them, and they headed off towards the hospital wing, Jessie wondering how Jade was, and, even more puzzling, what was wrong with her uncle?

"Jade!" Jessie let out a small gasp, and she and Daniel quickened their pace, as their eyes fell on their friend, who was sitting up in her bed and giving each of them a small smile.

"Thanks for finding me." Jade said, in a small voice. Jess and Daniel shook their heads, wiping away the gratitude distractedly.

"Don't mention it. Zeke did the most of it." Jessie said, in hushed tones.

Daniel grinned, "Yeah, and we had a little help from Moony Wormtail Padfoot and prongs." He added, sending Harry a grin, which Harry received with bewildered eyes.

Ginny scowled. Then her expression cleared up, and she let out a laugh.

"Oh, I forgot, have you two seen Ron around? Has he gone off to sleep somewhere?" Ginny asked Daniel and Jess. Jess looked awkward.

"Er, he left. I was going to tell you before, but everyone was so worried about Jade that I thought it best to keep quiet. I was just talking to him and he went all funny. He ran right out of here, looked like he was going to be sick." She explained, almost guiltily.

Ginny and Harry exchanged incredulous looks, and, despite themselves, broke out into a grin. There seemed that there were no more secrets between them now, and even though these were not the circumstances that they hoped Ron would discover the truth under, the relief of him knowing was a heavy, back breaking weight off their chests. The last few months, hiding a secret so hideous and so cruel from their best friend was the hardest thing that Ginny and Harry had ever had to do in their life. At least now he could sort it out between he and Hermione. It was their business now.

"Right. He was probably just really worried. I'm sure he'll be back." Ginny said kindly to Jess, who smiled, unsure. She didn't want to pry any further than she already had.

Ginny tried to get away all morning, without causing disrupt, to contact Ron, or even Hermione, and see how things were. She was scared, and she was scared of what happened to Katie, in amongst all of this, at the same time. As out of place and awkward as the woman was in their tightly knit group, she was a nice enough witch, and Ginny didn't want her to be hurt in the tangle of lies that was Ron and Hermione's relationship.

Ron and Hermione's relationship. She hadn't thought of those words for years and years. Back in her high school days it was the most poured over topic of conversation between her and Hermione. It was true that nowadays it wasn't a cause for much celebration, but at least they might; just might; be able to salvage something. Ginny knew that they both still loved each other, despite their whining that they had forgotten the others name.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ron could hear the blood pounding in his ears, and his eyes burning. He had just left Katie's place, where he told her that he couldn't see her anymore. It was true that he had no chance with Hermione anymore, but it was also, painfully true, that those moments where he had realised that he never stopped loving Hermione had woken him up to the fact that Katie was not the one for him; that she really was, as Ginny had informed him many times right back at the start of their relationship, an easy way out of the truth. She had never elaborated on that, but she had also always encouraged him to go looking for Hermione, and Ron knew what she had meant. He would never have been able to forgive himself if he had moved in with Katie, knowing that he didn't love her, knowing that she thought he did. It wasn't fair to her, and so, even though his heart still broke at the sight of her red, eyes, and the sound of her gentle sobs as he told her that he had had a change of heart, and that he still wanted to be friends, that he wouldn't want her to think that he never felt anything for her; even as his head hurts from the book that was thrown at him as he crossed the room to the door; even as his ears rung with the sound of that door being slammed behind him, Ron knew that what he had done was the right thing to do, after all.

And now, he had nowhere to go.

He could, if he wanted to. Go back to his packed up, letter strewn house, and spend his time sitting alone, drowning in self pity, but Ron had far too much pride for that. He knew that Ginny and Harry would find him eventually, after Jessie told them what had happened. They would find him sitting in the corner, puffy eyes and red faced, as he was now. Or, he could do the respectable thing. Take heed of the hard times that his family was going through; what with his niece being attacked by a former death eater and his nephew staying with his parents, and be a dutiful brother. Ron Weasley had pride, and he wasn't going to let Hermione Granger take that away from him too. He turned on the spot, and, with a fierce crack he apparated back to the place he felt safest.

The homely smells of the Burrow surrounded Ron, and he took a deep breath of familiarity. The oil that came wafting from Mr Weasly's shed, where he liked to tinker about with muggle appliances; the freshly baked muffins that sent their scent billowing out from a welcomingly opened window; the chicken feed in it's low trough lying in the front yard, being picked at discretely by garden gnomes; the fresh smell of apples from the orchard down the back. He could have stayed there and drank in the smell all day, but for the fact that he had been spotted. Molly Weasley had let out a shrill laugh, and tottered out of the front door, oven mitts still encasing her hands, and James Potter running energetically at her side, barely making it up to her knees.

"Ronald! How are you? How is Jade? How is Harry, is he holding up? And Ginny? Are they eating? Are you eating? You look quite deprived Ronald, come into the kitchen, I have just been baking-"

"Of course you have." Said Ron, his voice muffled as his mother brought him into a rib cracking hug that caused him to bend over almost in two to reach down to embrace her. James jumped up and down, holding his arms in the arm and whining, annoyed.

"Uncle Won Won! Hug me!" James moaned, scared of loosing all attention. Ron laughed, and picked up his nephew, walking towards the house with a smile on his face. He answered Mrs Weasly's questions, one at a time, leaving out the part about how he was, and continuing straight onto how Jade was. He told her, truthfully, that she had still been sleeping when he left, and that she might have woken up by now.

Mrs Weasley looked at him sternly.

"What are you doing here then Ron? Why did you leave them?"

"I thought that it should just be the two of them there for a while. The room was getting a little crowded, I didn't want to over whelm her when she woke up." Ron lied, quickly. The strong glance that he received from Mrs Weasley told him that she didn't believe him, however, she didn't seem to be able to come up with a reason as to why he would have left that early, so she shut her mouth, and kept quiet.

James gurgled, pressing his lips together to make a raspberry sound, something that he had recently learnt could annoy people, if done frequently enough while one is talking.

At around midday, Harry apparated in front of the Burrow. A knock on the front door made Ron jump, and James blow a raspberry, making for a very strange greeting when Harry opened up the door. His eyes widened when he saw that Ron was there.

"Ron!" he said, aghast. Harry had expected his friend to be, well, anywhere but at the Burrow. Australia, perhaps, but not here, in parents living room.

"How's Jade going? Is she awake?" Ron asked standing up from where he had been building blocks with James, a fun game, as each of the blocks would scream when they toppled over, a talent which James found highly amusing.

"Yes, she's awake. She'll need to stay ion the hospital wing for a few days, and I don't think they'll find Draco, but apart from that, she's fine. I just had to come here and tell everyone that, say hi to James…." Harry trailed off, staring at his friends face, trying to read what he was thinking. Ron's features, however, betrayed nothing.

"So where did you get to. Jessie said you had to rush away for something."

Ron's ears went red, and he clenched his fists in his pocket, just thinking about Hermione, and whatever man she was with.

"Yes, that was about Katie. I remembered, I had to see her about something, ad, well, we broke up." he confided, giving his friend a slight, garbled version of the truth. Harry raised one eyebrow, not convinced, but he dropped the topic, and Ron was glad. Harry, however, was just confused. He had been so sure that Ron would have noticed that Jessie bore unlikely resemblances to himself; the hair, and her ears, her freckles. It was hard to miss, if you knew what you were looking for.

But Ron didn't know what he was looking for. A tiny voice said in Harry's head. Harry felt ashamed. He didn't know what he was looking for because he, Harry, had been the worst friend that he could have possibly been. He was sure, sure that Ron would have been able to put two and two together, but the truth was, if no one told hi, that he had a daughter then why would he be looking out for one? Harry was more ashamed than he had ever been in his life, even though the fact still remained that it was none of his business if Ron knew or not, and he had to respect Hermione's wishes.

Ron misunderstood the crushed expression on Harry's face, and jumped to correct it.

"It's alright mate. I didn't love her. I never really did, did I? You knew it, Ginny knew it. I just needed to stop kidding myself." He said, quickly, Harry jumped. He almost laughed at the irony, and would have, had he been anywhere near a laughing mood.

"Alright, yeah, have you seen your mum? I need to give them the update." Harry said, trying to smile.

OOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Two weeks passed, and Ron continued to stay at the Burrow, he was too comfortable there to go back home. Fleur, Bill, and the family came to stay for one week, as they did once a year, and so he stayed, for one reason or another, for a fortnight.

It was amazing how much the Burrow still buzzed with activity, even though it had been many years since it held a family of nine. Though only Arthur and Molly lived there now, the rooms still seemed alive, and neither of the Weasley's was short in energy.

An assortment of people also dropped through regularly, so you could say that the house was a permanent reunion, with family, and friends of all ages and faces stopping for dinner. Most of them Ron knew; they were members of the Order of The Phoenix, or distant cousins that he hadn't seen for what seemed like a lifetime.

But what Ron did most, was fly.

He had taken two weeks from work already, to give the period where he was moving in with Katie some breathing space. He had conveniently not corrected the holidays, and besides, he was owed them anyway.

So Ron flew. He took his old broom out of the broom sighed down the back of the yard, which was so filled with spiders that he almost had a heart attack, and he as far as he could without being seen by the muggles ion the next village. Ron could think about anything when he was flying, and although it made him sad, and feel more lonely than he had ever felt, he liked the feeling as the wind flew through his thick red hair, and connected him with the best times of his life.

The euphoria that came with this, however, only lasted for so long, and, as soon as his feet touched the earthy again, so did Ron's thoughts, only they didn't come floating back down from the sky gracefully; they came hurtling down, and didn't stop when they reached the grass. Sure, he could put on a cheerful face for old friends, and he could liven himself up for his parents, every so often, but when he stopped trying, he was a mess, and Hermione, her bright haired, kind little girl, and whoever the girls father was, filled his thoughts, haunting him threateningly.

Mrs and Mr Weasley were worried about their son, who would lock himself in his room and appear tired throughout the day. He still hadn't given them a straight answer about why he was at the Burrow in the first place. The loved having him there, and Harry had told them that he had broken up with Katie, but Molly knew that it must have been something more, something else that he was never going to tell them, and all that they could do was try their best to cheer him up as much as they could.

"Ron, dear, I just wish that you would eat something…it's not healthy." Molly Weasley fussed over her son. It was in her nature, to fuss. The kind old woman had done it all her life. It was a trait that came from having so many children to look after. Not to mention a husband who did have a few childish traits…

"Ron! This will cheer you up! Come and look at these!" Arthur said, excitedly. Ron smiled at his mum, and shook his head, and then followed his dads voice out to the shed, where he had a small workshop of sorts set up. The shed was covered from the concrete floor to the thatched roof in bits and pieces of muggle mechanics, and other things that wowed the wizard. These included the motor from an old car, and, in pride of place, Mr Weasly's plug collection. He was now in the middle of examining these objects, which were really just an assortment of the sort of plugs that muggles found lying around the house, inserted into walls, and powering electrical appliances. Mr Weasley was, however, eyeing them as though they were gold.

Ron had no interest what so ever in the workings of the electrical plug. He wanted to escape Molly's constat begging for him to eat something, and so he positioned himself on the old couch behind his father, and watched as he looked through all of his collection, a maniacal gleam behind his glasses.

Ron's blue eyes, which where rimmed with red from crying, squinted at his dad as though he were crazy, the amount of enthusiasm being put into looking at the seemingly useless muggle contraptions a total loss on Ron.

"Look at hem Ron! Ingenious really? Isn't it? How they get on without magic?" Ron stared off into the distance. Yes, getting on without magic. He couldn't believe that Hermione, the brightest witch of their age, could have gone for so long without doing one little bit of magic…she must have really hated him, to give it up all together. Ron groaned inwardly. Of course she hated him. She probably hated him more than he hated Lavender, and that would explain a lot…

"I mean, they carry power in this Ron! Almost like their own little magic wands you could say!" Arthur continued excitedly, dusting them off compulsively.

Ron stared off into the distance. He remembered how embarrassed Jessie had been when she had said that she was muggleborn. Was that really how Hermione had brought up her daughter? The same way hat she had been brought up? Had she really taken her daughter off to Hogwarts knowing the kind of prejudice that she would find there, even though she didn't deserve it at all? He thought of the way that Jessie's cheeks had blushed, how her ears had turned red with shame…

Ron sat bolt upright, and jumped from the chair as though one of the spark plugs hanging on the wall behind them had sent an electric shock running right through him.

Suddenly it all made perfect, earth-shattering sense. Ron didn't have time to feel angry or elated, or whatever other emotion threatened to break its way through the chains that bore them down. All he had time for was the bubbling determination, and the mind numbing fortitude that had over come him, to know the truth, and the absolute truth.

Arthur hadn't noticed any of this. He was now going through the ingenious way that muggles over come their stupidity. He was explaining to Ron, about the fact that muggles have different plugs, and showing him the foreign sort, the prime of his collection. The words only floated through Ron's ears, like a nuisance, the space between them vaguely taking them in as he thought of what he could do next…

"…And this one here Ron? See this one, with the three flat prongs? Well this one is brilliant, comes from Australia! Jades young friend sent it to me! Lovely young girl-"

Australia. And all of a sudden, Ron knew. He knew the truth, and he wanted more than anything to escape it.

Ron grabbed the plug and ran from the room, sprinting to the living room and throwing a hasty handful of floo powder into the crackling fire that was burning in the grate.

"Brisbane, Australia!" he yelled, a triumphant smile on his face, the flames turning blue, and swallowing him up.

A/N: yes, it was a long time coming, but it was extra long, and I hope that you will still forgive me! I really do apologise! I have a new story coming out soon, by the way, called the Emerald Eyed Stag, which is actually where I got my username from; it was the first story that I ever wrote! Edited A LOT! So please read that when it comes, I would be so grateful! Thanks for reading this far in code red! The end is near!

Luv Ella xXx


	17. Carrie Brown Revisited

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter… 

Ron could only think of one reason that he had chosen Brisbane as his destination; for the only person he knew who lived in Australia lived in Brisbane, no matter how vaguely he knew Carrie Brown. She had seemed nice at the party; if he had not been there with Katie then he might have even consider her dating material, and she had been helpful enough. Ron knew that he would attract many stares, wandering around the streets clutching a muggle plug but it wasn't as though Arthur Weasley hadn't done it before.

Ron flew out of a fireplace in a small coffee shop, in the centre of the city. He coughed, and looked around at everyone inside. There wasn't much to look at. Though the inside of this place could have been called by some 'quaint' or 'cute' it could be easily referred to as 'small', and there were no more than two people sitting inside of it. An old witch, with long grey hair pulled into plaits that hung about her waist in tattered bows, was sitting behind the counter, and she smiled, awkwardly, at Ron, who was standing just outside the fire grate, covered in soot.

"Hello dear." She greeted him. The other person in the room, a small wizard with a bent and crooked pointed hat that almost brushed the ceiling it was so high, eyed Ron suspiciously, without smiling. He seemed immensely curious as to who the red haired man was.

"I'm in Brisbane, aren't I?" asked Ron apprehensively. The lady behind the counter nodded.

The little man raised one eyebrow at the lady behind the counter, obviously wanting to comment on the fact that Ron had a very distinguishing British accent. He bit his tongue, however, and the lady spoke, to fill the awkward silence.

"Yes, yes you are. I'm Madame Doherty. We don't actually get many other wizards around here you know? Always glad to see a new face! Would you like a room?" she gestured to a rickety staircase in the corner, eagerly, "It's reasonably priced, I assure you. And you can stay for as long as you like. I'd be glad of the company!" she shared. The man snorted, and Madame Doherty jumped a little. "Well, I have old Marcus here, but he doesn't speak all that much."

Marcus grunted.

"Well you don't!" she argued. Ron nodded, and turned back from the staircase, realising that he was yet to speak, "Yes, thanks, that would be great. I'll only need it for one night, thanks." He said, and smiled gratefully at Doherty, and then attempted to smile at Marcus, who was still eyeing Ron as though he were going to explode at any minute.

"Well then, I suppose that you have business to attend to here in Brisbane. I wont ask you what it is, don't worry about that, don't like to pry I don't-"

Marcus inserted another opposing grunt here, with made Doherty throw him a reproachful look, with her round, blue eyes, one of mock hurt.  
"I don't! Now, to get back in, the password is midnight, you'll be able to see the entrance, but muggles wont. And good luck!"

"Thanks. Oh, and would I be able to use your fireplace one more time? I just need to talk to some one." Ron asked, nervous about imposing on the kind woman so much. She just laughed.

"Don't fret, of course you can! Long distance I expect." She said, grinning, obviously still referring to Ron's accent. He grinned, a little uncomfortable, with his thoughts flying ceaselessly from Carrie to Lavender to Hermione to his daughter. Mainly to his daughter.

As angry as Ron was, he couldn't help wonder about what he would do when he found Hermione. Would he scream at her? Throw a tantrum, break down, or just sit, and ask all the questions that were posed in his mind about the curious young girl. _Was her childhood good? Is she smart? What Quidditch team does she go for?_ _Does she know that her mother helped fight in the greatest war that wizards have ever seen? Did she know that her parents (This was when Ron began to spin) fought in the greatest war that there has ever been? What was her favourite colour? And food? _

Everything was spinning around in his mind, so that by the time he stuck his head into the blue flames he barely felt any difference as his head hurtled it's way back to England.

"Lavender?" he asked, when his head reached the other side of the grate. He was in Lavender Thomas' living room, the fire large and welcoming central in the huge room. Ron didn't like the thought of going to Lavender for help. Especially when the help involved finding Hermione. He felt almost as though he was betraying himself, but it was the only place that he could think to start looking, and if he had to sacrifice his pride to get answers then it was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

Lavender, who was currently walking out of the room stopped in her tracks, and turned slowly towards the fireplace, a smile on her face. Ron nodded, for her to come closer to the fireplace.

"Ron Weasley! How have you been?" she asked, happily. Ron rolled his eyes.

"Oh, really brilliant." He said sarcastically. "Listen, I need to know where your cousin lives. Can you maybe give me her address? I know I sound stupid, but I need her help with something."

Lavender's brow furrowed. "With what?" she asked, suspiciously.

"Does it matter? An old friend of mine, alright, she's Australian, I need Carrie's help tracking her down!" Ron was getting more and more agitated. The fact that Lavender was taking so long in helping him get the truth out from Hermione, even though she didn't realise that this was what she was doing, was extremely annoying. The irony wasn't lost on Ron, and he was very annoyed by that.

"Lavender? Help, please? This hurts you know!" he groaned. He also didn't enjoy the way that his head was stuck near the ground, and she had the power to stare down at him in that patronising way. Like she knew something that he didn't.

Lavender clasped her hands together. "An old friend! Would I know them?" she asked, delighted.

Ron's eyes narrowed. "You might." He answered darkly, angered still by the coincidence.

Lavender's face broke out into a grin so instantaneously that Ron was sure she had shone a light through her ears. She turned her back on the fire, and delved into a set of drawers that was set on the opposite wall. A crease appeared in Ron's forehead. The pain in his knees made him feel as though they would split open at any minute.

"Lavender! What the bloody hell are you doing?" he asked, through gritted teeth, feeling that the whole visit must have been a waste of time.

"Lavender!"

"Hold on!" she argued back. Then she produced a thick black book.

"Here!" she proclaimed, placing herself cross-legged on the rug in front of the fire. Ron preferred it this way. He didn't feel so inferior, all of a sudden.

"I have been meaning to plan a Hogwarts reunion for forever, I have everyone's addresses in here! You have no idea how long it has taken me to track down everyone! Well, everyone who survived." She trailed off, a sad glint in her round eyes.

Ron wasn't listening to this; it was the next part of the conversation that caught his attention.

"Yep, everyone! I'm, so proud, I finished off the collection just a month ago!" she was grinning like a manic. "So who is it that you want to find? Because they're in here, I can promise. You don't need my cousin for that!"

Ron looked shocked. How could she have Hermione's address? Why would Hermione give that to her? She hated Lavender! Ron cleared his throat, and then spoke with a voice that felt detached from his body in a way that even his fire born head was not;

"Hermione. Granger, Hermione." He said, attentively. Lavenders features fell a little. Her eyes narrowed. If Ron hadn't known better then he would have thought that she was still jealous of Hermione. But there was something else there too, and Ron couldn't place it, no matter ho hard he tried. Lavender knew something that she wasn't letting on.

"I don't have hers." Lavender said, after a long time of silence, where the pain in Ron's knees was horribly noticeable again. Ron groaned.

"What? But you said that you had everyone's!" he moaned. Lavender smiled sadly.

"I didn't think that you were that thick Weasley. Hermione Granger, keep in touch with me? Yeah right." She snorted, and took out another piece of paper from the inside of the black book instead, and tapped it with her wand.

"But here. It's Carrie's address. Take it, go visit her, maybe she can be more of a help than I am." She said, sadly. Ron smiled gratefully, and Lavender placed the paper in his mouth, and then tapped him on the top of the head. Ron, for a moment, felt uncomfortably like a pet dog.

"Bye Ron." Lavender said kindly. Ron grunted thanks, through a mouthful of paper, and pulled his head out of the fire.

Doherty and Marcus were both sitting at a table drinking from large mugs of tea when Ron arrived back at the shop, and they turned, Doherty smiling, Marcus looking gruff, and greeted him when he arrived. Ron pulled the paper out of his mouth and looked at the address on it. A feeling ran through him of foreboding, of trepidation, and of fear. Most of all fear. What if this woman could lead him to Hermione? The fact that he didn't know what he would do, or how he would react when he saw her was what scared him the most. He was scared of what he would do. Terrified.

"Thanks for that. I'll be back tonight, if it's all right?" Ron asked, and Madame Doherty nodded serenely from the corner, a small smile on her lined face. Ron smiled back, feeling sick all the same, and headed for the door, shaking slightly.

When Ron was outside he turned on the spot, and, with a sharp crack, disappeared to the front of Carrie Brown's house. Ron looked up and down the street. This was not the type of place that he would have expected her to live. Shinny white muggle houses bore down on him from all sides, the dimming sunlight bouncing off their gleaming surfaces and glaring at him.

He had expected Carrie to live somewhere a little more isolated and a little less prescribed, the identical houses making him confused. The only thing that was different about each of them was the gleaming silver numbers that adorned the mailbox, and told him which house belonged to Carrie. Ron swung open the gate that belonged to number four, and walked down the thin pathway that led to the door.

Ron knocked on the door eagerly, and waited.

Hermione heard a knock at the door. She was puzzled, but put the sudden arrival down to door-to-door salesmen, and walked slowly, and regretfully to the front of the house. When she pulled back the door, however, there was no salesman there.

_He knows_. She thought desperately, _he's found out. It's all over._

Hermione's head spun dangerously on her neck as she realised that the moment she had dreaded for eleven years had finally come. It hadn't come at all how she had wanted it too; though she didn't have any picture in her mind of the meeting being pleasant, no matter what the circumstances.

Ron Weasley looked at Carrie Brown. She seemed utterly stunned. At least she hadn't forgot who he was.

There was a split second where Hermione considered slamming the door back in Ron's face, and hiding in a cupboard for the rest of her life. She could have very well don't that, however, the realistic side of her; the side that often questioned weather her years at Hogwarts had been but a dream, knew that she couldn't do that, that it wouldn't be fair, and that this was what had been bound to happen from the moment that she knew she was pregnant.

Ron's face was flushed, and his eyes were scared, and fierce, and he seemed very distracted. Hermione had one split second in which to decide weather to invite him in, break down sobbing, or slam the door in his face and hide in the wardrobe forever. She was in too much shock to do anything by the first.

"Carrie." Ron said, desperately, a crease appearing in his forehead. Hermione snorted, alarmed. "Carrie I need your help! I'm so sorry to just turn up like this."

Hermione raised her eyebrows, and stood aside, allowing Ron to walk into her house.

"Er, sure." Hermione said, in barely a whisper, "Come on in."

Ron nodded gratefully, and headed through, letting Hermione lead the way through the house and to the kitchen, where she sat them around the dining room table, and went to make him a coffee.

"Um…" even though Ron was in a state of immense distraction, and confusion, he couldn't help but notice the lack of wizardry apparent in this witch's house. She was making his coffee in a machine that looked like a shiny teapot, and bubbled and churned dangerously. " I thought you were a witch?" Ron asked her, puzzled. Hermione jumped, and pulled a strand of blond hair out of her eyes. She didn't turn around, from where she was standing at the kettle. She was having trouble breathing. Ron Weasley was in her house, in her kitchen, drinking coffee. Drinking coffee with Carrie Brown. Oh what a mess she had made.

"So Ron, what are you doing here?" she asked, when she had regained her breath. Ron seemed to take the hint of her not answering his question, and didn't pursue the matter, but he continued to stare around at all the power points, and the fridge, which was whirring in the corner, and the electric hot plate.

Ron gave Hermione a sad smile, and accepted the coffee that she handed him, gratefully. He took a long sip from the mug before answering, not wanting to have to tell the story.

"I'm looking for an old friend. She lives here. Lavender gave me your address, you know Australia, you might be able to help me find her."

"Australia's pretty big Ron." Hermione said, chuckling nervously. "Her? What happened to Katie? Does she know that you're here?"

Ron shook his head, hanging it low.

"No, we're not together anymore." He confessed. The joy Hermione suddenly felt must have shown on her unfamiliar face, because Ron looked at her, confused.

Hermione thought about telling him then. She was really very close to it. He was alone, she could explain it. It was a better opportunity than she was ever going to get; he was in her house, there was no one around. Jess was at Hogwarts.

"So then who is this woman? The one that you're looking for?" Hermione asked, curious.

"Just an old friend. Someone I used to know a very long time ago." Ron's fists curled in his pockets, thinking about what Hermione had hidden from him. If Carrie couldn't help him find her then he didn't know what he would do.

"I cant help you find her if I don't have a name Ron." Hermione said kindly, her heart beating violently against her rib cage, hurting her chest, making her breathes jagged and putting her mind on the edge, but she had too keep going, not look away, let her eyes sink into those of Ron, there swimming baby blue making her feel like she was an fifteen year old again, sitting opposite him in class, hoping that he wouldn't look across and catch her staring.

"Ron?" she prompted again, and Ron deflated under her glance.

"Her name's Hermione Granger. She used to be my best friend and then I did something incredibly stupid. Well, no, actually, it looked as though I did something incredibly stupid, but then she did something that was even stupider than the thing that it looked like I did and now…well, I need to find her." He finished, tears of anger in his eyes, thinking that he had talked so ridiculously that Carrie wouldn't have picked up on anything that he was saying, and that she would be too blown away by the speed of his speech to ask again, however, the words had hit the woman sitting opposite him like a tidal wave, and fierce, fiery emotions were coursing through Hermione like a flood, making her eyes fill up with tears.

Ron looked up from where he was staring at his hands, and saw that she was about to cry. This shocked him, immensely. He barely knew Carrie, and he didn't think that his dry accounts of the events had been all that moving. Maybe she was crying because she thought him mentally unstable. That could very well be it.

"Oh Ron." Hermione sobbed, and the tears spilled over, and ran down her cheeks, "I'm sure that she didn't mean to do that thing that was stupid. I'm sure that she thought that she was doing what was right at the time. I'm sure that, if she were here now, she would take back everything that has ever happened, and, not hope that you would love her, but at least not hurt her, or hate her forever." she said. Ron looked at her eyes, which were watery, and seemed larger through the tears. He stood from his seat.

"Seriously, why do you find it so sad? You don't even know me?" Ron asked, raising his eyebrows, and wanting to comfort her, but not knowing how. Hermione sniffled, and whipped the tears of her face, without much persistence.

"Its just that, I'm so sad for you. I don't even think that I can help." She lied, trying still to stop the crying. "I've never even heard of this Hermione Granger, and I wouldn't know where to start to look. I am so sorry. I hope that you have some luck." She wasn't lying this time. She did want him to have luck. She wanted him to be lucky, go out into the world, and fall I love.

"Sorry Ron, I need to go out, I forgot, I have to work."

"Now?"

"Yes, I am really sorry. "Hermione sniffed for the last time, though her eyes still shone obviously, and the outsides of them were surrounded with a thin rim of red. Ron was dumbstruck. This woman was probably the most confusing that he had ever met.

"You have to go to work now?" he asked. Hermione fixed him with an almost pleading expression.

"I really am sorry." She commented, sincerely. Ron led the way down the hall, and to the front door.

"Well, thanks for trying anyway." He said, giving her a tiny smile, sorry for making her cry. That was when the picture, hanging on the wall of the hallway, caught his eye.

"Goodbye Ron." Hermione said, holding the door open. She didn't notice that Ron's jaw had dropped so low that it may as well have been scrapping the doormat. His eyes were wide, in utter astonishment.

Ron ignored the open door, and walked back down the hall, until he was level with the picture. He stared at the girl. He stared at the chocolate brown eyes of his laughing, four year old daughter. Then he turned back to the woman that he knew as Carrie Brown, and into the hopeless, chocolate brown eyes who had retired, given up, magnified by tears. Ron's amazement, and understanding, turned into ruthless anger in the blink of an eye, and he clenched his fists in his pockets, his nails digging into the skin of his palm.

Hermione knew that it was all over. She knew that there was nothing more that she could do but wait what Ron had to say.

Hermione opened her mouth, to apologise, or maybe to try and make things better, but Ron just strode out the door, and slammed in behind him, the deafening noise resonating in Hermione's ears as she sunk down the wall, and rested her head on her knees, defeated.

**A/N: hope that that was all right! Please give me your comments! I would really appreciate them! I did write this a while ago, but it never really felt right. I'm not at all confident when writing Ron's character in detail, as you might have noticed, so sorry if this chapter is horrible! Argh.** **Thanks for reading this far! Review!**

Luv Ella xXx 


	18. the box under the bed

**A/N: this chapter is dedicated to Maddy: hope your holiday's going well! And to BuckNC, my faithful reviewer, whose last review made me smile; I hope it's good enough for u guys!**

_**Luv Ella xXx**_

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Hermione let the water run over her, coursing quickly and hot, plastering unfamiliar clumps of saturated blond hair to her forehead, and her cheeks, mingling with her tears so that she couldn't tell weather it was the water coming out of the shower that was washing her or the salty moisture coming from under her closed eyelids.

She scrubbed at her head, furiously. She wasn't furious with her hair, exactly, though it did seem to be part of the problem. She was frustrated with the person that she had let herself become. She had been a good mother, she could merit herself that, but she had focused so much on that that she had forgotten the other things that came with being a good person; she had rejected Ron in the cruellest way possible, over a stupid misunderstanding. Hermione was mad at more than that. She was mad at the way that, when Ron had left the house in such anger she hadn't thrown open the recently slammed door, and chased him down the street, but rather sat in a heap on her hallway carpet, drowning in tears and unbearable, unearned self pity. She was angry with the way that, upon seeing him at her door she hadn't set him down and explained everything out to his face. She was even mad, in the end (and she hated the fact that she was thinking this way) that she had left out the picture of Jessie on her wall, after planning so deviously in every other way.

Hermione's hair wasn't changing. As much as she scrubbed and pulled at it, she couldn't get it back to the way that it had been when she had been happy. She had known that this would happen of course; she couldn't wash this out like a muggle dye, or anything like that. She needed magic, and standing under that shower for hours on end would do nothing for her but up her water bill atrociously.

Hermione turned off the tap.

Pulling a towel around her, and massaging her scalp gingerly, where she had been tugging frustrated at her hair, Hermione headed down the hallway, to her bedroom.

The walls of Hermione's bedroom were completely bare. They were white, and in eleven years of living in the house, she had never hung anything on them. She liked it that way. No past life, no current life, just her, and whoever she felt like being at the time.

In the floor of her room, under the large double bed that took pride of place in the centre of the room, was a floorboard that was so loose it could be lifted clean up off the ground.

Hermione pushed at the bed.

The tiny legs of the bed groaned. They didn't agree with being scrapped along the ground, and scratched against the wood after staying immobile for so long. She pushed harder, bending her sodden head to the ground and groaning.

The bed moved, creaking across so that the loose floorboard was revealed, exactly how Hermione had left it, the night that she moved into this muggle house, before Jessie was born. The dust that covered the top of it was the only thing that differed. Hermione had been so scared and superstitious about this part of the floor, and what was hidden there that she had refused to move the bed, even for cleaning.

Hermione hadn't been able to throw out her wand. She couldn't bring herself to sacrifice every remainder of her past life; and she would have had to destroy it if she had had to get rid of it; she could have a muggle finding it in her rubbish bin or anything like that. It would have had to be completely gotten rid of, and that brought on a sort of finality that she couldn't bare. Hermione had, therefore, taken a wooden box, much like children keep their pencils in, and filled it with the last few relics of her life as a witch; her wand, being accompanied with some old, tattered pictures, which she had been tempted very much to uncover on lonely nights, or after returning from a particularly bad date. She had never succumbed to this temptation, until now. Now the loneliness was too much to handle.

Hermione stared at the outside of the box. The wood seemed to have darkened, and the box appeared to be smaller than when she had left it under her bed, all those years ago. Maybe she had grown. Maybe her memory of it had made it so massive and wonderful in her dreams that whatever the reality was was bound to be a disappointment.

She slid back the lid. It didn't come easily. It staggered and stopped until it slid off, and Hermione let it clatter to the floor noisily.

And finally, there it was. Pictures scattered on top of it; one of her, Ron, Harry and Ginny at Harry and Ginny's wedding; one of her, Harry and Ron on their graduation day; one of her, Hagrid and Harry; one of her and Ron, smiling awkwardly, in sixth grade. So many memories coursed through her at that moment that she felt as though she were about to explode, however, when her hand brushed over the slender, wooden wand at the bottom of the box, Hermione's jitters were comforted immediately, and a warming, tingling feeling rose all the way through her, starting from her right fingertip and ending at the tips of her toenails.

When you are a wizard for a long time, you begin to forget what it is like the first time you touch a wand. The feeling of magic growing inside of you becomes as common and comfortable as walking, sleeping or breathing. Hermione, however, hadn't felt that particular sensation for quite some time. She was taken back, instantaneously, to the moment when she purchased her wand in Ollivander's wand shop, when she was eleven.

Hermione knew what to do now, This was much more intuitive for her than living as a muggle was; perhaps that was why she was so horrible at using the kitchen appliances (at least this is what she told herself) but she knew what to do when she had a wand in her hand. Everywhere else she felt lost.

Pointing the wand at her own head, Hermione said the incantation.

Standing up, she walked to the mirror, and grabbed at her new hair, softly, grabbing huge chucks of it in her fist, and watching her smile in the mirror at the same time. From the curly, thick, brown hair to the wand that rested in her hand elegantly, she really was Hermione Granger.

"O Harry, you haven't seen Ron, have you? He went off in the fiercest of tempers…"

"Mrs Weasley calm down…"

"I don't know why on earth he's gone there or why he would get so worked up over the mention of a spark plug- well, of course it wasn't the spark plug on the poor things mind…it was that Katie woman leaving him…"

"Katie didn't leave him…he-"

"Of course she did! Why else would he have been moping around the Burrow for a fortnight? The nerve of that girl-"

"Mum!" Ginny cut in, walking over to where Harry and Molly Weasley were standing, Mrs Weasley panicked and jittery. She had just watched her soon vanish into a fire grate, which, admittedly, was less alarming than if she hadn't been a witch, but either way, she had no idea why he wished to go to Australia, so panicked, with no explanation to his father.

"Mum, calm down…" Ginny soothed, putting a hand on her mothers shoulder. "Now, what happened?" she shared a weary glance with Harry, and the three of the sat down on the couch in Harry and Ginny's living room.

"Ron. He was staying with us for a while, you know that of course, and then today he just got this look on his face (I didn't know of course, this is all from what Arthur was telling me) and he threw his floo powder into the fire grate and whooshed off to Australia!"

Harry gulped, and Ginny grinned. She didn't want her brother to be in so much pain, but she did want all the lies to stop, and quickly. It seemed that now they had.

James made a zooming noise as he played with his toy Knight Bus in the corner of the room.

"What are you smiling at?" Mrs Weasley interrogated her daughter. Ginny looked incredibly guilty.

"Harry. Do you think that we should…"

"I think so. Ron knows now anyway."

"Knows what?" Mrs Weasley asked, curious and impatent. Harry sighed.

"I don't want you to think any less of us. We couldn't have said anything if we'd wanted to. By the time we found out it was too late for us to tell Ron; he wouldn't have taken it very well if we'd told him with a confrontation…all year we've been coming up with scenarios, trying to work out a way that Ron could figure it all out for himself. I know that once he calms down he'll see it from her perspective. I did, after a while."

Harry knew he was telling the story back to front, but if he had told it the other way then Mrs Weasley might not have given him a chance to explain everything.

"And it seems that the situation pretty much created it's self, when we were at Hogwarts. All we had to do was make sure that Ron was left alone with her and everything fell into place; if he hadn't been so determined not to see what was staring him in the face."

"I don't understand any of this Harry." Mrs Weasley told him gently. It seemed that Harry was talking to himself, more than the rest of the room. Harry shook his head.

"You will. Listen, back eleven years ago, Ron and Hermione Granger, well, we'd all been waiting for them to get over themselves and get together, and they finally did. On the night of our wedding. The next night, a friend of Ron's turned to him to comfort her when she was in a sticky situation. Hermione saw them together and assumed the worst."

Ginny took over, when Harry looked to her for support, "She couldn't believe that after seven years of going after him that he would run off after just one night, and she ran. To Australia."

Mrs Weasley began to catch on to he story now, and she seemed to be pleased by that. She nodded her head for them to continue.

" Ron tried to contact her, but she had cut herself off completely. She didn't want to be a witch anymore." Harry explained. "She changed how she looked, and who she was, and then…"

Harry turned to Ginny. Ginny shook her head, scared. Mrs Weasley's eyebrows rose. She wanted to hear the end of the story…

"She discovered that she was pregnant." Harry finished. "And, well, Ron has a daughter."

Mrs Weasley rose from her seat quicker than anyone of her age had ever rose before. Anger was etched into her face. She bore down on the two sitting on the lounge and made them feel as though they were thirteen again, and had been found sneaking to Hogsmeade, or something equally as rebellious.

"And you two KNEW?" she roared. "You two KNEW THAT I HAD A GRANDAUGHTER! Ginny, I am very disappointed in you! In the both of you!"

Harry felt as though he had been slapped across the face. Mrs Weasley had never been this angry at _him._

"Mrs Weasley we-"  
Molly was already storming up to the spare room, upstairs in the Potter residence, and slammed the door behind her.

Harry and Ginny slumped down against it. They had to continue their story. She had to know what happened.

Harry leant his ear against the door. He couldn't hear anything. Then he moved his mouth up to the keyhole.

"She raised Jessie, all by herself, with no magic at all. She didn't want to tell Ron because she thought that he had done something that she couldn't forgive, and he would just use the child as a reason to make Hermione forgive him. She didn't want Jessie to be used like that, so she kept quite, and had the child all by herself. I have spoken to her, about once a year, and she had never mentioned having a little girl before. Never. She didn't have any help either. You'll remember that her parents were killed in the war I suppose? Well, She was an only child, and now she is a muggle."

"Why would she have done that? I'm that kids grandmother, I would have taken care of her!" Mrs Weasley roared back, the first sign that they had gotten that she really was listening. Ginny hoisted James up higher on her hip. He was getting to big to be carried…

"She was scared Mrs Weasley! She was nineteen years old! She's regretted it for all her life! I hated her at first as well, but you remember what it was like to raise Ron, don't you? Imagine doing that all by yourself, without magic. I'm not saying that you have to love her straight away, but can we please try and forgive her. She thought that she was doing the right thing. And you'll want to meet Jessie, wont you? She's a great girl Mrs Weasley! She's wonderful."

Harry stopped, and looked at Ginny. She nodded, and Harry put his arm around her. All they could do now is wait.

Finally, after a long silence broken only by James Potter throwing his shoe up and down and trying to catch it, without success, Mrs Weasley's voice came wafting through the wall.

" And now Ron knows?"

"Yes." Ginny said, sighing with relief, " Jessie has been with Jade and Daniel Lupin all year, at Hogwarts, and Hermione's been trying to get up the courage to tell him. The other day he put too and two together for himself, and so now, I guess, he knows. The truth is out."

The door opened a slither, and the light coming form the hallway that Harry and Ginny were standing in lit up the tiniest corner of Mrs Weasley's face.

"Well we can't make the girl suffer for what Hermione did when she was nineteen." She said, slowly and logically. "Neither of them, I suppose."

With this, you could tell that there was still anger in her voice, but it was heavily suppressed with reminiscent pity. "Invite her around to dinner, when she ready."

And with that, Mrs Weasley appearated back home.

Harry smiled at Ginny, and James threw his hands in the air in triumph, though that may have been with more to do with the fact that he had just caught his shoe on the full.

"When she's ready?" Ginny asked, the hint of a laugh in her voice, "When she finds out she has a father."

"Oh she will. If Ron and Hermione are talking things through now then they'll have to confront her eventually, won't they?"

This analogy would have been fine, had Ron and Hermione been talking at that moment. Instead, however, Ron was sitting in a muggle park, letting the sun go down slowly around him, and Hermione was sitting at her kitchen table, her wand in her hand, no longer distraught, but wondering strategically what to do next.

Ron was still fuming when he had reached the park. He had walked, for what seemed forever, and found himself in the little grassed area, with tall trees that were casting romantic shadows across the lawn. There were only a few people around; a couple walking a dog that appeared to be bigger than they were, and a family of four, the kids reaching their knees, squealing and carrying on, making the parents laugh, hand in hand. Ron ignored all of these people. He went down and sat under a large tree by the river that ran through the park. It was a large tree, with viny, overhanging limbs that almost brushed the water. Ron sat, sprawled out on the grass under the tree, and closed his eyes.

All her could see was red. And angry, fierce red colour, and as much as he closed and shut his eyes he couldn't get rid of the rage that he was holding onto.

He thought about Hermione. He didn't want to…or did he? He couldn't decide anymore. He was so mad at her that he might have hexed her if her weren't so worried what would happen to his daughter.

_His daughter_ the words never ceased to amaze him. And the fact that she was, and had been his daughter for eleven, almost twelve years already was the other thing that he couldn't come to terms with. He had missed out on so many things that he would never recover all of them, no matter how long they talked for.

Why had Carrie…Hermione…come to Lavender's party? If she had talked to Lavender then she must have known the truth. Maybe that was what Lavender was doing, tonight, Ron thought to himself, realising that he had been set up to know the truth, she sent him to Carrie Brown's house, so that he would find Hermione. Lavender must have known that he had had a child.

The red colour obscuring his thoughts came back to a blinding state. Ron opened his eyes. He couldn't stand the anger.

The sun was casting patterns on the water, and for the longest time Ron stared at the river, which was calm, and still, and thought. He thought about Hermione, and Jessie, and the night that he had met Carrie Brown. How she had cried when they were talking about how great Katie was. How she had run outside. How…

Ron stopped. The colour on the water no longer looked calm and still. The orange projected onto it seemed to reflect his anger; his hurt, and his absolute fury. Ginny and Harry had known. They had known all along, for how long, he had no idea.

_Could they have known all her life? All of Jessie's life?_ Ron apparated on the spot, and appeared outside the Potter Residence, back in England. The temperature was considerably different, and Ron's muscles seized up with the cold, but he kept on walking, approaching the house at almost a run, his feet pounding up the walkway.

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Dan, Jade and Jessie were sitting under the beech tree in the school yards. The early winter air was chilly, and grasped at their cheeks, making them pink. Jade had been let out of the hospital wing a week ago, and though she still got a little dizzy sometimes, she seemed fine.

Jessie, however, didn't seem to be all that focused.

"I wish I knew where I'd seen her before you know." She muttered, when conversation died down between the three friends. Daniel and Jade looked at her, curious.

"That girl, the one in the pictures. I wish I knew who she was."

Jessie looked up at them, taking her eyes off where she was staring at the grass. "I've seen her before, I know that I have. I must have, or she wouldn't haunt me like this!"

"If only we could get Hagrid to crack." Jade added, giving them a small, frustrated grimace, "But he's been so stubborn and distant that I doubt we'd get any where."

"We could try bribe or blackmail. Anything that Hagrid would want?" Daniel added, half joking.

"A dragon." Snorted jade. The other two glared at her with scandalous expression, and Jade hastened to correct them. "No no, I was joking. Never mind, it's a long story…"

"I'm serious you two!" Jessie said, standing up to let out her angst and pacing in front of them. "I have seen her, and I need to know where. It's not her exactly. Maybe I know her kid or something. She's so familiar…I have dreams about her, she's there!"

Daniel and Jade gave Jessie weird looks, like they were a little scared of her.

"Not weird dreams. She's just smiling, you know. Or else she's sitting here, under this tree, or, I don't know, standing in one of the pictures that we've seen, that's it, but I know that I must be having them for a reason. Something's telling me that I should know by now!"

Jess kicked a rock in the ground angrily so that pieces of tufted up grass went flying into the lake. She stared out as it hit the water. The sun was setting, casting red patterns over it's surface, patterns that mirrored her frustration so perfectly that she could have sworn the hue was made in her head.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Hermione and Harry jumped, when they heard the door downstairs burst open. Mrs Weasley had left not long ago, but she would have been gentler with the door fittings than the person who had just entered so crudely. By the sounds of it,; the door banging back against the wall inside; the person downstairs was either very angry or in a very big hurry.

Harry's experience and auror training had not been wasted on him. Before Ginny could blink he had his wand in his hand, and was headed down the hallway. Before he could reach the end, however, and cats the sealing charm on the room so that who ever was there couldn't leave, he heard a voice echo up the stairway.

"Where the bloody hell are you?" Ron roared, standing near the doorway and beginning to pace the living room dangerously. Harry looked back down the hall to Ginny, who was looking tearful, and James, who was excited and raring for adventure at her heels.

"I know that you're here Ginny! Harry! I know that you knew! The whole game is up! I know about Carrie Brown, and I know that I HAVE A DAUGHTER!" Come down! You've been too scared to talk to me for the last eleven years, come out and be brave now!" he yelled. Ginny looked from the top of the staircase to Ginny, and se off down them.

Ginny stood, shaking, in the door to their bedroom.

Harry appeared at the top of the staircase. He hated the fact that it made him look down on Ron while speaking, but he feared that if he got any closer then his friend might start throwing things, and they might easily hit their mark.

"Ron?" he said, quietly. Ron was breathing heavily, and his fists were clenched in his pocket, one hand over his wand and the other balled into a tight bulge.

"You could have told me Harry." Ron said, in barely more than a whisper that was, like Mrs Weasly's disappointment, much more hurtful than screaming.

"You could have told me something like this. I would have forgiven you then-"

"Would you have forgiven her though?" Harry asked, quietly. Ron's eyes flew wide open, like he was seeing Harry for the first time, and Harry knew instantly that he had said the wrong thing.

"Forgiven her?" Ron bellowed, looking up at Harry, and starting to ascend a few stairs. Harry didn't dare look back to see if Ginny and James were watching, and he didn't want them to see he and Ron arguing, so he started to go down, and meet his friend.

"I didn't mean it like that mate, you know that I didn't, it's just that I was mad at her too! I was, I really was! But she thought that she was doing the right thing at the time. She didn't know that there was a mix up Ron-"

"I told her that there was a bloody mix up…"

Ron's voice was loud, booming through the whole house as though there was a very unsettled wind billowing through the curtains.

"We were nineteen Ron! Don't you remember what we were like when we were nineteen? We were absolutely crazy! The war was over and we thought that we knew what was best for everyone!" Harry saw the reminiscent look in Ron's face. It was only there for a fleeting moment, but Harry knew that he had caught it, sneaking into the corners of Ron's blue eyes. "Hermione didn't." Harry finished, quieter, "She just thought that she knew what was best for her daughter."

The anger returned immediately to Ron's face.

"She's my daughter too." He said, in a quiet, quivering voice that he pushed out through proud, gritted teeth. Harry nodded.

"I know. And what Hermione did was wrong, I know that. But we have been working all year to get her to tell you! It wasn't our right, we couldn't tell you, it would have been the worst thing that we could have done, after her keeping it a secret all these years-"

"So you haven't known the whole time?" Ron asked, his face relaxing just a tiny bit, and his eyes opening hopefully wide. Harry shook his head earnestly fast.

"No, only this year. That's the thing Ron. She's raised Jessie alone all these years-"

"She didn't have to! I would have supported her! I would have been a good dad Harry!" Ron could feel that he was about to cry, but he knew that he never would. Not now, not in front of Harry.

"I know that you would have. But it's true. You would have wanted to get married. You would have wanted to be with Hermione. If she had come back then you would have been able to talk her into coming back to you, even though she thought that you"

"I didn't!"

"I know! I know that! And she does too, now, but back then she didn't! Think about it! Is it worth throwing away what you could have now for what happened back then? You have a daughter Ron."

Up the top of the stairs, Ginny fought with her will. She had never been one to just stand around, especially when Harry and Ron were doing something that didn't involve her. Especially when Harry and Ron were doing something that did involve her, even in the smallest of ways. She knew that Harry would be able to get through to him much easier than she would have been able to, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to be there, downstairs, where the action was. Growing up hadn't changed that.

Ginny took James by the hand, and led him to his room. She sat him down on his bed.

"I'm going downstairs to talk to daddy and uncle Won Won." She told him, soothingly. James stood up, and began to jump on the bed, enthusiastically; "you stay here, alright?" she turned. James pulled the saddest face that he could muster, and when Ginny looked back, she couldn't help but spare him a laugh, no matter how serious the situation was. He wanted to be part of the action too.

Ginny appeared at the top of the stairs. Ron as walking back down to the living room, and Harry was following him, quietly. She made a small noise, at the back of her throat. Both the meant turned around.

Harry gave Ginny a small, hopeful smile.

"We're going to tell Ron everything." He told Ginny, sitting down on the couch, Ron placing himself, pale faced, across from Harry. "_Everything_."

* * *

_**A/N: sorry this is so long coming! The final confrontation I mean! I keeps drawing itself out, and I can't stop it! There will be one last chapter, plus an epilogue, and that is all. **_

_**Please leave me a review!**_

_**Luv Ella xXx**_


	19. brown eyes red ears

A/N: I AM SO INCREDIBLEY SORRY! To everyone who has been waiting for this chapter, and for those who stumbled across my stupid mistake at the beginning of this week and read my planning. You know what happens at the end now, don't you! I'm so sorry. I really can't believe I did that. I was so excited to post that I posted the wrong document.

Thanks so much to the reviewers who were brave enough to tell me what I'd done. Thankyou to everyone who seemed so scared for my sanity. Thankyou, also, to those people who still said they enjoyed the chapter, though that makes me slightly scared for YOUR sanity. Kidding, by the way.

Now, if you did read this at the beginning of the week, then you could just skip to the last thousand words or so, which is the real ending, thanks for clicking on the link again and reading this!

I would love to hear what you think of the chapter, and the real ending!

And remember, always feel free to pm me, alright? I love talking to strangers!

Luv u all, sorry!

Ella xXx

Hermione smiled as she entered the three broomsticks pub, in the village of Hogsmeade. It was all up to him now. He could come, or he could stay away forever. Nothing she could say would be able to change either decision. If it were the first then she wouldn't have wanted to change it. If it was the second…

The door swung open. Hermione's heart pounded dangerously. She could have sworn that the lady in the corner of the pub, with the long grey plait hanging down her back was staring at her in that scared way because she could hear her heart beating. Then again, maybe the years hadn't changed her all that much. Maybe she could remember the brainy little girl who used to run around these parts with two boys in tow, causing all sorts of strife and getting them out of trouble. Maybe the starers even remembered her as Harry Potter's friend, the one who helped save the wizarding world.

And maybe; Hermione knew, deep down, that this version of the truth was the most realistic; maybe she was just imagining that the bystanders' eyes fluttered her way more than was normal. In any case, when that door opened, she couldn't help but jump.

A tall man, wearing a thick over coat, who Hermione had never even seen in her life entered the pub, and rose a finger to Rosmerta behind the bar, as she poured him a drink, before he had even taken a seat. Ron still wasn't there.

The clock on the wall ticked over to one o'clock, and Hermione sank lower in her seat, and slumped her head forward, so that it was rested on the warm, polished tables. Although it wasn't more than five seconds past the hour, and Ron Weasley had never been known to be punctual, at the sight of the clock ticking past their meeting time caused Hermione's stomach to drop lower than the polished floor boards that covered the room.

Hermione's thoughts began to wander. She had a tendency to over analyse things, and this was no exception. An internal battle between her common sense and her wishful thinking was taking place inside her brain, and the confusion that it welled up inside her was not at all pleasant.

_He could have been held up._

On a meeting to find out about his own daughter? He's not coming.

_He might not understand the full story._

Harry had said that he understood enough…

_But Harry might have gotten the time wrong. Or the day…or maybe the month_

Harry's not that stupid. He knew how much this meant.

_He could have gone back to Katie._

Without telling me?

_Why would he tell me?_

He loves you?

He doesn't 

Perhaps-

_He's not coming. _

Hermione stood from her seat so fast that her knees banged on the table that she sat at, and she fell to the ground, in pain. The woman who she had been sure was watching her caught sight of this, and rushed over.

Hermione at up, brushing herself off, kneeling on the ground, tears of pain shining unshed in her eyes. The lady helped her up, and went back to her seat. Hermione stayed kneeling, for just a moment, her eyes level with the side of the table.

As you get with any place that is frequently visited by hormonally charged high school students, the edges of these tables were not completely devoid of romantic (and sometimes crude) etchings and carvings, made by bored lovers and whimsical wishers. One whimsical wisher, Hermione noticed with a shallow sob, had taken the time to carve a rough, and rather boyish heart into the side of the table, with the initials HG inside it. Hermione would know that handwriting anywhere. She got up and ran from the pub. He wasn't coming. Why would he?

_Why would you?_ Ron asked himself, as he got his cloak on to head off to Hogsmeade.

Why wouldn't you? A tiny voice in his head answered back. 

_You have a daughter._

She doesn't know…

_You love her mother…_

She left me. She didn't tell me.

_She was eighteen._

That's no excuse

_She regrets it now._

She shouldn't have done it.

_You could always forgive?_

Why? So that she can run away from her problems again?

_She would never do that again. You know it. _

Ron argued with himself over whether or not to go for quite some time. The voices inside his head got louder and louder until he couldn't take them anymore. He clapped his hands over his ears and screamed loudly, though this didn't help at all. The voices could talk as loud as they liked.

He stood there, in the middle of his living room, for what seemed like an hour, taking his cloak on and off, pacing, throwing things, hitting his head against the wall, and finally, after a long time and tedious amounts of self torture, sitting himself down with his back against the bottom of the couch, and staring at the watch that was slung around his wrist.

A hour after he was meant to have met her. Was he thinking too much of himself to expect her to have waited around. Harry had told him; he didn't have to turn up if he didn't want to. He could always stay right where he was, and Hermione wouldn't know anything different.

At the time, Ron had been sitting, opened mouthed, in the Potter's living room

His mouth hanging slightly open, a mug of mulled mead clasped between his hands, at one in the morning, as he listened to as much information as he could bare about Hermione and Jessie, trying to store the tiniest details that he could in pockets in his mind, so that he felt like he knew Jessie the tiniest bit more. He could tell some things already; just from the short conversation he had shared with her in the hospital wing. He had replayed that conversation over and over again in his head what must have been a thousand times since it had occurred, and he still didn't feel any closer to Jessie, no matter how much he tried to. She was still an almost stranger with hair simular to his. Except for the fact that she was his daughter. And he might not ever meet her. In fact, he wouldn't meet her, if he didn't go now, and patch things over with Hermione.

When it all came down to it, the last two weeks imagining what Jessie Granger might be like had been pure torture for Ron, and if he didn't put his anger aside, and forgive Hermione for an eleven-year-old mistake then the rest of his life would be spent with that horrible wondering. Ron pulled his cloak back over his shoulders, and appearated to Hogsmeade.

The air in the village was so cold and crisp that it could be seen willowing around people as they walked about, rugged up in preparation of the coming season. The cold grasped onto their breath, and formed clouds in front of them, making the overcast pearly white sky a forecast for the approaching weather.

Ron pulled his cloak even tighter around himself, and grasped it together at the neck, pinching it to keep in the warm air. He was aware of everything that he was feeling; his feet, I his boots, hitting the pavement in an almost meditative beat, with a heavy and practically excited purpose. His eyes, as they darted across to the direction of the castle, whose turrets could just be seen to peek over the village, watching from a great distance over the top of hills and trees. He was aware of his hand, which was curled into a fist over his wand, and his grip was nervously tight. He could feel the beat of his heart, in time with his feet, echoing through the hollowness that filled his body, the hollowness that came with the horrible wondering.

Ron through back the door to the Three Broomsticks, hoping that he wasn't too late, and that Hermione would still be there, waiting for him to come, and tell her that everything would be all right.

The pub was full of strangers. Real strangers, and not old friends pretending to be strangers. Ron's beating heart sank, and his grip loosened on his wand, as he let it slacken in his hand. Some people in the crowded bar turned to look at him as he entered, but most didn't notice.

Ron sighed, and made his way over to the empty table that he, Hermione and Harry used to rush for, and claim as there own, when they visited the pub. They had spent many a cold afternoon holed up in here, watching Ron act smitten with Rosmerta and Hermione scold.

He slumped down in a chair, which had a clear view of the bar, and felt at home again, like he was fifteen years old, sipping an innocent butterbeer, though their lives had been far from innocent. Leaning back, Ron caught sight of a tiny etching, carved into the side of the table. He would know that handwriting anywhere.

It was his own.

True, it had more bumps and slopes that it did now days; the love heart drawn around the clumsily formed letters was one that he could vividly recall etching, years ago, on his first trip to Hogsmeade. It had just been he and Hermione then. They had spent most of the day worrying about Harry, and how he was doing.

He had been so excited, as had the rest of the third years, spilling into the village well before any of the other, older students had. They were itching to get there, desperate to have the touch of freedom that came with Hogsmeade visits.

Ron had always wanted to visit Zonkos, and Honeydukes- he barely gave a thought to the kinds of places that Hermione fancied to visit; the Shrieking Shack, the post office, the book stores. He had, however, followed her all day, asking what he had hoped were intelligent sounding questions. It was perhaps this day that he had first realised that he had loved Hermione; though it would be years before he would admit it to anyone, even Harry.

Ron knew that he had done the right thing coming back to the pub that night, even if no one else knew that he had returned.

And now he knew where to find Hermione.

Ron walked down the embankment that led to the Shrieking Shack. The fence that cut it off from the rest of the world was still in tact, though it supported many holes that had been formed by kids who wanted to see how close they could get to the decrepit house without being haunted.

It was no surprise to Ron that there was someone already sitting there.

What was a surprise was this person's appearance.

Hermione was dressed in a full-length cloak. Her hair sat around her shoulders in thick, brown curls that made her face look healthier and fuller than her thin blond locks had done. She looked so simular to what Ron remembered that he found himself lost for words, and merely gaped at the side of her face for a moment. Hermione heard someone coming and turned her head, where she sat on the ground.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ron asked her, dully. Hermione gasped, and though she couldn't cry again, she clamped up inside herself, and trembled. Ron's face wasn't angry. It was deserted, and disappointed, and she hadn't expected it to be where she was, but it wasn't red with anger, and his ears were gratefully pale. Hermione stood up, steadying herself, and attempted a small smile. Ron still stood a fair way away.

"I thought Harry told you-"

"Since when have we talked through Harry Hermione?" Ron asked, sitting on the ground. Hermione slowly moved closer, and sat down beside him. Ron didn't want to hear the story again, but no matter what happened, he knew that he wanted to hear it from her, no matter how much he felt like screaming.

Hermione talked for a long time. The sun went down. Most people would be scared of being so close to the shrieking shack at night, but for those who had been inside it then this was nothing. Ron was sitting in exactly the same position he had been when he had first found Hermione, and his face was still directed firmly forward. He hadn't glanced at Hermione once, through her whole address. He didn't move now, even when she was finished, and ended her apologies with a sigh. He stared straight ahead.

Ron was determined not to let his emotions show. Ron hated the fact that Hermione knew him better than he even knew himself, and he knew that if he were too open with his features then she would be able to tell what he was thinking, even before he knew.

Because Ron didn't know what he was thinking- or more he was thinking so many things at once that none of them seemed fair, or logical. Hermione, however, continued to talk, and explain her life away, a pleading desperation in her practically hollow voice. She finally stopped, and a silence fell that Ron was determine he would not be the first to break. He continued to stare straight ahead.

Hermione seemed to slump.

"Chocolate mint." Hermione said, in barely a whisper, though retaining her matter of fact air. Ron gave up staring forward, and jarred his neck from disuse as he spun finally to face her. "That's her favourite flavour of milk shake. She likes to shop, read, and watch the football. She goes for the team with orange and black banners, and has recently attained a passion for Quidditch. She owns a white cat called Lily."

Ron smiled. Hermione didn't flinch, or turn away as he continued to stare into her eyes, blankly, piercingly.

"There are so many more things Ron. I couldn't tell you all of them if we sat here all night. She'd love to tell you them herself though." Ron gave a smile. The corners of his mouth curved slowly but surely upwards, in a way that was barely noticeable, but Hermione noticed. She always did.

"We can visit her in the morning. At Hogwarts. She should know the truth." Hermione continued. "That is, if you want to. She's a really great girl though Ron, you would love her."

The smile fell from Ron's face, and something clenched at his heart again, "Yes, I never said that I wouldn't Hermione. I never thought I gave you the impression that I wouldn't."

"You know that I got the wrong impression. I'm sorry for that."

"I know. I'm sorry for that too. Actually, I'm not, it's Lavender who should be sorry for that, but…"

The smile had come back to Ron's mouth, and Hermione held her breath. "Lots of people do stupid things at that age, don't they. You can't hold a grudge forever."

Ron got up, and walked away, back the way that he had came, towards the village.

"Where are you going?" Hermione called after him, panicked that he might not care after all of that, that all of her worrying and fretting and explaining her life away would have been for nothing. Ron just looked back at her lightly, his eyebrows raised.

"To the Three Broomsticks. We'll need a place to stay if we're visiting our daughter in the morning."

Ron didn't know if he was doing the right thing when he agreed to head up to the castle the next morning. Hagrid was nothing short of shocked when he saw Ron and Hermione standing on the other side of the school gates, when he went down to unlock them the next morning. They had spent the night in the inn, in separate rooms, and barely spoken since their conversation the previous night. Hermione was almost scared to talk. There seemed to be an unspoken understanding between the two of them now; that he would neither love her, nor hate her, for the time being, though this was as delicate as butterfly wings, and she was scared that she might break it with one wrong word, or stupid comment.

"Hermione? Is that you?" Hagrid asked, squinting through the early morning air at the pair, who were trotting up to the gates, Ron's face ruddy with anticipation. They were walking a fair way apart from each other, and were far from holding hands, but Hagrid, who's eyes had misted over at the sight of Hermione let out a boom of surprise when he registered the red blob he was seeing as Ron Weasley's hair. Hagrid fumbled with the lock of the large gate, his large hands working it open in a way that no normal sized person would have been able to manage. He stood, then, in the middle of the open gates, for a split second, his eyes twice their normal size, a bemused smile evident through his bushy beard.

Hermione didn't wait any longer. She through her arms around Hagrid's legs in greeting, and chocked back tears of joy at being able to be herself again. Hagrid didn't ask any questions, just stroked Hermione's frizzy hair with one of his fingers, and exchanged a surprised look with Ron.

"I suppose you're here to see Jessie then are yer?" Hagrid asked, leaning down a little to speak to Ron and Hermione, as they walked up the castle grounds, heading upwards, the castle looming down on them, calling them almost. Hermione nodded, and willed Hagrid with her eyes not to say any more. Ron looked up, resigned, to see Hagrid's guilty face, and though he felt the anger rise inside of him for a moment, he couldn't find the drive in him to get mad at Hagrid as well. Harry had already told him about Hagrid's help, it was no shock.

"They'll just be getting out of bed now I would say." Hagrid said, slowly, looking up at the castle with a fatherly expression on his face. He was proud of this school, like he was proud of nothing else, except perhaps Grawp. "I could invite her down to breakfast, if the two of you would like. Alone." He added. Hermione smiled, and let her shoulders relax slightly, breathing in the magic of Hogwarts, and feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, the warmth of the spells and charms that were cast all around her tingling through her.

Ron could feel it too, though he felt magic every day. Maybe it didn't have anything to do with magic at all, for either of them. Maybe it was just the feeling that everyone gets, wizard or not, when they return to the place where they have been the happiest.

"That would be great. Thanks Hagrid." She said the last part in a way that clearly said _for everything, _without having to unnecessary refresh Ron's memory. Ron knew that his memory did not need to be refreshed, but he kept that thought between himself and the clenched fist that he hid in his pocket. It was all in the past. He had to remember that it was all in the past…

"Come on then, we'll go back ter my place." Hagrid said, and they set off towards the tiny hut that Hagrid still liked to call home, on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

When they got to the cabin, Hermione couldn't help but smile.

The interior was the same as it always was. The homely yet slightly frightening contents of the small room could belong to none but Hagrid. Hermione noticed the pictures on the mantle piece, and turned to look at Hagrid again, curious.

"Didn't Jessie see these?" She asked him. Hagrid, who was taking off his large, heavy coat and draping it over the back of a chair, gave her a rueful smile.

"Of course she did. Asks a lot of questions too, that girl does." Ron gave a humoured snort, and Hagrid's smile widened as he caught Ron's eye. "Reminds me of someone she does."

"We were never nosy Hagrid!" Ron argued, laughing, reminiscing gleefully. He was careful not to look at Hermione while doing so; if he did then he might find himself wanting to be friends with her again.

If his eyes had strayed to the woman then he would have noticed that she was not sharing in their laughed. She was looking concerned.

"But- But Hagrid, she didn't notice anything about them, did she? She didn't recognise me, or, or…"

Hermione trailed off. Hagrid shook his head, and relief flooded Hermione's features rapidly.

"Nuh, she was ruddy curious at times though. Jade too. She wanted to know who the woman in all the pictures in her house was." He continued. Hermione flashed Ron a quick glance, which he was careful to avoid. She was a little put out b this piece of information.

In all the years that she had maintained her muggle status, and kept away from her old life, she had assumed that her old life was happy and content enough to stay away from her. If Harry and Ginny still had pictures of her hanging around the house then she had been fooling herself to think that Ro would have just forgotten about her. Of course, it didn't show weather he felt anything for the woman smiling in the photographs at any point through the eleven years she had been only that, but at least she knew that she was there. It comforted her, in a weird, selfish way.

"And Jessie knew that she had seen the woman before. Didn't put it all together of course; who would have been able to, what with the way you changed yourself. I doubt even Ron here would-" Hagrid stopped. He didn't know how the pair had been reunited again, but the tension in the air was enough to steer him away from making any such comparisons.

"In any case, I wouldn't have recognised yer; I didn't, that day we met in Diagon Ally, and so the girls and little Daniel Lupin went running around the school trying to find you in a bunch of old records. Nearly would have, too, if I hadn't hid the old Head Girl records." He winked at Ron and Hermione. Ron barely cracked a smile, and Hermione gave Hagrid a grateful grin.

Hagrid looked between Ron and Hermione, and then back again. He could feel the tension in the air like a thick morning fog, and it did nothing to lighten the atmosphere, when Ron was already bracing himself to meet his daughter.

Technically, he had already been introduced to the girl, but this time it would be different. This time she would know.

_This time I will know_. Ron thought, savagely. Then he saw Hagrid looking at Him.

Hagrid looked away quickly. He turned his gaze, and stared out the window for a moment, apparently lost in thought. Standing abruptly, he moved suddenly to the door. The sun was well and truly up now, staring through the window mockingly, it's clam, steady nature arguing horribly with Ron's jittering heartbeat.

"I'll go and get Jess for yer." Hagrid said, when he was half way out of the cabin. "She should be up by now."

Hermione nodded, calmly. The door swung slowly shut behind him.

Ron stole a glance at the woman out the side of his eye. Hermione was standing, straight backed, by the mantle place, staring into the flicking flames of the fireplace, mesmerised, as it fluttered and pranced in the grate. Her nose was turned down wards, and her eyes were almost closed, so that her lashes lightly licked the top of her cheeks. She let her hair fall down haphazardly over her face, with a tiny strand of it hurled back behind her ear, restraining the rest of its masses. It was the same face, he realised, that he had fallen in love with. Her eyes were a little more creased, and her cheeks much less rosy, but it was the same woman that he was best friends with, no matter what mistakes she had made.

Hermione had scarcely made mistakes; it seemed that sooner or later she was bound to make a rather large one.

A tiny tear, invisible unless it was expected, slid down Hermione's cheek and off onto the smouldering ashes of the fire, making a soft, and barely recognisable sizzling noise. Ron started. He hadn't expected her to cry. Maybe he just didn't want her to cry. Whatever the reason, he didn't know how to stop her crying without forgoing the icy disposition that he had vowed to maintain throughout the whole meeting. He couldn't give in and embrace Hermione because of one tear. He just couldn't.

The one tear, however, turned into considerably more than that.

They built up on top of each other, slowly, and before he knew it he could hear a soft sniff, under the hair. Ron put a shaky hand on Hermione's shoulder, still standing just far enough away to not fall in love again. Hermione gave a twitch, and all her muscles seemed to seize up.

"Er…" Ron tried to start. Crying girls never were his speciality, and he hadn't gotten any better at handling them as the year wore on. "It'll be alright you know." He added, gruffly. Hermione stifled a sob, which could have almost come from a laugh. Ron's woman skills, or lack there off, obviously hadn't gone unnoticed by Hermione. But she was glad that he had had an attempt and it was enough for her to0 pull herself together.

Smiling sadly, and wiping her eye vigorously, Hermione turned. Her eyes fell on the window. Two dots; one large, moving quickly, and one small and wandering lethargically, were skidding there way across the grounds and to the hut. They were coming. Hermione took out her wand, and pointed it at her face, making the tears dry up immediately, and took a seat around Hagrid's dining table. Ron followed suit.

When Jessie Granger walked into the cabin, she let out a small squeal. She knew that there had to have been something special about the lady in the pictures. She had known from the minute she had laid eyes on her, and had racked her brain ever since, trying to determine where it was she had known her, without avail. There must have been something special about her- she knew now- why else would Hagrid have brought Jessie here, to meet with her and-

Jade's uncle? Sure, she had wondered about his abrupt departure from the hospital wing, all those weeks ago, but why he was here now, looking awkward and a little nervous was beyond her.

"Hagrid-" Jessie begun apprehensively, turning to look at the man. Hagrid shook his head slightly, and smiled. He was waiting for Hermione to say something.

"Jessie, sweetie, I want you to hear me out, before you say anything…"

Jessie's eyes grew wide, and she felt her voice choke up in her throat. Even if she had wanted to say something then she knew she wouldn't have been able to. The voice that had come out of that woman's mouth had been obviously and without a doubt her mothers, though she didn't know why. She looked at Ron Weasley for an answer, but his eyes revealed nothing. They seemed to be a little glazed over, and he was staring at Jessie, surveying her up and down with a tiny, proud smile covering his lips.

"Please?" Hermione asked, seeing that Jessie was confused. She didn't want to have to come right out and explain who she was. Not yet.

Jessie turned to the woman, and looked her flat in the eye. That was when she noticed it. That was when she felt like crying.

The woman's eyes were her own. Even more importantly; this woman's eyes were her mothers. The lady from the pictures was Hermione Granger. Jessie didn't know how, and she didn't know why she was here, but it was her, she was sure of that.

Jessie nodded, bewildered, and sat opposite Ron and Hermione at the over large table. Hagrid smiled, at the door, and left, quietly, walking back up to the castle, to have breakfast.

"Jessie, I was a witch, before you were born. This is what I look like. I used magic to change myself, mainly so that Ron here couldn't find me-"

Jessie gave Ron a fleeting glance. His ears had gone red. Just the way that hers did, when she was embarrassed or angry. It made them melt into his flaming red hair naturally, and Jessie started to cry, when she realised who this man was. Hermione didn't have to say anything- Jessie couldn't even take in the words coming out of her mothers mouth anymore. They jumbled together, and didn't make any sense. Nothing made any sense anymore, but everything meshed together so well that Jessie knew that this was the truth. It was a twisted truth, very different to everything that she had been taught, all of her life, but it made her belong, and it made her seem a lot more normal than she could have ever hoped for.

Hermione was explaining something about a misunderstanding, and running away, when Jessie's brain slid back into action, and she stopped staring backwards and forwards form Ron's red hair to Hermione's brown eyes. The words that brought her back to earth resonated in her ears with earth splintering resound.

"-and I ran away. You cant blame Ron honey, you cant, he had no idea, I never told him." Hermione surveyed the expression on her daughters face for a very long time. It was oddly vacant, and, without Hermione realising, it morphed slowly into one of anger, confusion and hate, until she jumped from her seat, and ran out the door. Hermione stood, quickly, to try and chance after her, but Ron put a firm hand on her arm, and lowered her back into her seat, slowly.

"Let her run." He said, quietly. "I would too, if I'd heard something like that. Let her go for a while. She'll come around. She's just- in shock, that's all."

He hoped that the words that he spoke were true, because from just those moments they had spent together, as Hermione told their story, and from the minute Jessie had entered the cabin at Hagrid's side, Ron had known that he had more in common with his daughter than he had ever fathomed, and he didn't need to have spent eleven years with the girl to know her- he could tell who she was already.

Jessie felt the wind whoosh through her hair rapidly, and let her toes skim the top of the trees, as she flew over the top of the forest. The school brooms- old nimbus two thousands, weren't all that great for flying aimlessly, and quickly, which Jessie liked to do when she was scared, or angry, but they did the job, and first years weren't allowed their own broomsticks, at any rate.

The feeling that she got from flying was one of ecstasy. The sensation of soaring through the air, of magic whooshing among her, holding her up, nothing there to catch her if she fell. Even though this thought was there, on Jessie's mind, she couldn't help but feel safe when she was flying. She could escape from any problem, and rise above all her fears if she only stayed upon that broomstick.

Jessie stayed up in the air for quite some time. The sky began to darken. The sun disappeared behind the mountains that surrounded the school and made their edges singe with purple and orange light. Stars speckled the not yet black sky, and yet Jessie continued to fly, lower now, hoping no one would look out of their dormitory window and see her, but she was still in the air, letting everything pass her by, letting the magic that she knew now had been emerged in her since she was born. The air cooled, and the rushing wind that blew at her face stung and dried her tears too her flushed cheeks.

Jessie was angry. She was afraid, afraid to touch back down, meet the woman she had never known was her mother, and the man she had never known was her father, and try and accept them the way that they wanted to. There were moments, while she was flying up there, that she shot through the air so fast that she almost forgot that she was fuming with anger and betrayal, and actually began to imagine what it would be like if he, her father, and Hermione got back together. If she were to forget how mad she was, and just accept the fact that she had been lied to all her life, then she might actually have the real family that she had secretly dreamed of all of her life. If she could forget about the mistake that her mother had made, then maybe Ron Weasley would too. If he had come all the way up to the school and met her then he must want to get to know her, or have something to do with her life; and he isn't, at least, the horrible man that she had had pinned as her father for all these years, thinking that he had run out on them. He hadn't known a thing about anything. It wasn't his fault, at all, and she shouldn't be punishing him for a mistake that Hermione had made.

These thoughts would come, and then they would leave again, as quickly as Jessie would pass by the trees that turned into a green blur at her feet. The anger would come back at double the strength; just thinking about all of the lies that she had been told- not only when she was growing up, but while she had been at Hogwarts; was enough to make her fuming mad again. Hermione mustn't have been the only one who had known.

Slughorn, McGonagal- they had all taught here when Hermione had been at the school. When she had been head girl at the school. When she had been one of the people to defeat the dark lord- so many people must have been keeping it quiet. Hagrid included, and Jade's parents. Even Daniel's family must have known the truth, and Suzie…

The list continued on forever, being exaggerated in her young mind, her thoughts floating out into the darkening night sky and disappearing into nothing.

The thing that hurt the most, Jessie decided, was the fact that her mother, who she had thought she had been closer than anyone with, was a lye- she was a witch, and she had been all her life. If she had known that- known all about this other life, then she might have been able to accept and forgive her for what she did, but now…now it felt as though she had been raised by a woman that she didn't even know, and now she was revealing it all like some horrible, sick joke.

"Jess, come on down, we need to talk."

Jessie didn't turn around. She could feel Jade fasten behind her, picking up the pace so that soon she was a dark blur beside her cousin, a frown invisible in the nights dim light.

"Jess, please?" the desperation in Jade's voice was evident, and Jessie even slowed the broom down just a little.

"Jess, we need to talk, you need to tell me what happened, I am really worried about you." She said, speaking loudly over the wind that was rushing past their ears and blocking all the sound out, but for the thumping of their won hearts.

Jessie didn't turn around.

"No, I can't Jade, not right now."

"Please?" Jessie was scared. She didn't even know why she was flying away from Jade so intently. She wouldn't hurt her; She hadn't been the one to lye so horribly to her for eleven years. She was her best friend, if anything she could help.

She was her cousin.

Jessie turned the broom around, and soared back down to a sloping patch of grass, Jade hot in pursuit.

Jessie returned to her dormitory that night, red eyed, her red hair horribly windswept and frizzy from the long fly, and her cheeks flushed and cold from tears and chill. Jade was down in the common room, talking to Daniel. Jessie didn't think that she could face telling the story again. Telling it once, to Jade, was traumatic enough for one night.

She drew back the curtains around her bed. It was odd. She had thought that she had left them open that morning- she had left in such a hurry, Hagrid coming up to the common room and telling her that he had something to show her, down at his cabin had made her so curious that she hadn't even had time for breakfast, let alone straightening out her room.

There it was. The book that she had waited for so long to see, laying on her pillow. The one that Hagrid had taken all those weeks ago.

And it wasn't the only one. Under this book, there were many others. One cover took Jessie completely by surprise. Hermione Granger- her mother- the woman she felt that she had just met today, had her name inscribed on the cover of it- she was the author. On the front was a picture of Hogwarts. The book didn't look that old, but it wasn't exactly new. Jessie picked it up. The date on the inside cover was the year before she had been born. It seemed to be about their lives, growing up- her parents, and Jade's. About how they grew to defeat the Dark Lord. About what happened to them along the way.

It may have been true, Jessie thought, as she lay down on her bed, still in her robes, that she didn't know anything of her mothers life, however, it seemed to have been a pretty great one. And she had given it up, all because she was doing the right thing for her daughter. It had been a pretty bad mistake to make- but it had been a mistake all the same, and maybe- just maybe- she would be able to grow to forgive her.

Because according to the first page of the book that Jessie was reading, by the candle that burned softly on the small table beside her, her father was a pretty remarkable man.

A/N: I hope that you all liked that! It wasn't too much of a let down? I hope not, because there is about a page of writing left- a little epilogue, to let you all know what happened! But I thought that I would post it separate, because it does work better that way. Please let me know what you thought of the story, and of this chapter in particular! I was so stressed about posting it, I didn't know if you would hate me for not summing up Hermione and Ron properly yet, but it didn't seem real! Thankyou to everyone who is reading this ,because it means that you have taken the time to read all of those chapters, and believe me, I am very very grateful to you all!

**Thanks forever!**

**Luv Ella xXx**


	20. epilogue

Jessie smiled down the table. She had never been in a place like this; a place where everyone seemed to look simular, or laugh simular. A place where everyone knew who she was, despite the fact that there was many more than fifteen people sitting around the warm wooden dining table, the crackling fire across the room warming them up as it snowed fiercely outside, and carols echoed from the wizarding wireless in the corner. Laughter reverberated off the walls, and swam back through Jessie's head, the sweetest sound she had ever heard. The food she was eating tasted delicious- as though all other meals she had tasted up until this point of her life had been fake, and this was the real thing.

In fact, everything about this seemed like that. As though this was where she was meant to be, and she should have been here a long time ago. This was, of course, the truth, but if she wanted to stay here then she would just have to accept the fact that she couldn't; and at least everything was all right now.

Molly Weasly eyed her family with a joyful festive smile on her plump face, her cheeks rosy and red from cooking up the meal, a strand of tinsel strung around her neck in the festive spirit. She was glad that Hermione had come, no matter how much she hated what the girl had done. She hadn't changed, really. She still seemed like the polite fourteen year old who had first arrived at the Burrow, all those years ago. The only difference in her was the traits of bad decisions; and some fatigue brought on by the war; however, she was still there, no matter how many differences Molly tried to spot. And for every bad decision she must have made a good one, Mrs Weasly thought, looking at her granddaughter, Jessie, fondly.

Ginny frowned slightly, looking at the way that Hermione glance nervously, and sadly at her daughter, from time to time. Something wasn't right there, and she didn't know what. Jess had agreed to come here today, to meet her family, and find out who she is, and yet she and Hermione still don't seem to be getting along well.

"Give them time." Jade whispered in her mother's ear, following her gaze to her friend- cousin- and noticing Hermione's edginess. "They'll be fine."

Jessie looked down the table at her cousin. Jade smiled back, her green eyes gleaming encouragingly, as she nodded in earnest. Jessie took a deep breath, and turned to her mother, who was sitting to her right, holding out one of the Christmas Crackers that was sitting at her place setting.

"Mum?" she said, attentively, nervous almost. Her voice quavered, but it was Christmas, and she wanted things to be right. "Merry Christmas." She said, grinning. Hermione's face broke out in amazed relief, and her entire body relaxed, a smile relaxing across her face that made her look many years younger. Hermione took the other end of the cracker, and they pulled it, tight, so that it burst open with a resonating crack, making Jessie scream, and duck under the table. Jade was laughing herself silly, tears rolling down her face, as Jessie's head peered back up over the edge of the wood. Hermione clasped her hand over her mouth.

"I- forgot-" jade was gasping for breath, between bursts of laughter, "I forgot to- to tell her…" she rolled on her chair, in uncontrollable glee. Harry chuckled, but was more preoccupied with the hat that had come out of the bon bon. Hermione perched the stuffed vulture firmly and proudly on her head, a stupid grin on her face, trying to hold in the laughter, for only three at that table would find it remotely funny.

Hermione calmed down a little, and the table rose into chatter again, the thick French accents combining with the laughing, heavily British ones, Jade laughing over something with Harry, Ginny trying to stop James from throwing food at his grandfather. She felty a hand slide slowly on top of hers.

Hermione seized up. She dared not to look.

"Merry Christmas." Ron smiled, and whispered so soft that only Hermione, who was sitting to his right, could hear. She squeezed it tight.

It wasn't a marriage proposal. It wasn't a kiss, or a confession of love. It wasn't even as though he was embracing her, however, it was a start, a promise of more to come.

After all; Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger always seemed to take it slow.

**THE END….**

**A/N: thanks for reading the whole thing everyone! I am so grateful to all the reviewers, and I would really love to know what u thought of this little ending. I've loved writing it! If you liked the story then please check out my new one- Harry potter and the emerald eyed stag! Thanks so much for everything! And thanks to all the brilliant friends that I have met through writing this story! And Bella, if you have read this boring thing then you are dead.**

Luv Ella Evans xXx 


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